The Osun State Fire Service on Monday announced that it had begun an investigation into the fire incident that claimed the lives of a Customs officer attached to the Oyo/Osun Command, Tijani Kabiru, his wife, and four children in their house in Ede.

The tragic incident, which occurred in the Akankan Area of Ede during the early hours of Monday, immediately plunged the community into mourning and sparked panic among residents, who woke up to the news of the victims’ deaths.

Residents from the area where the house was located, when contacted by our correspondent for comments, declined. However, a neighbor of the late Kabiru, a man in his 40s identified only as Kola, said that smoke was first noticed coming from the house around 3 a.m.

Upon realizing that the smoke was coming from Kabiru’s house, Kola said fire service operatives from the Ede Fire Station were contacted.

Despite the prompt response, Kola explained that the house had already been severely damaged before the firemen arrived, adding that Kabiru, his wife, and the four children lost their lives in the blaze, though one of the children managed to escape.

“I can’t say when the fire started, but we observed smoke at about 3 a.m. The response time of the firemen was not bad, but the house had been badly affected before the fire could be subdued. Kabiru, his wife, and four children were already burnt to death. But one of the children escaped death,” Kola said.

When contacted, the spokesperson for the State Fire Service, Ibraheem Adekunle, confirmed the incident in a statement signed by the Director of the Service, Mr. Olaniyi Alimi. He stated that six lives were lost in the fire.

Alimi confirmed that a probe had begun to determine the cause of the fire, which remains unknown.

The statement read in part, “We were informed of the incident via a distress call to our emergency number 08030808254 at 3:21 a.m., and our team from Ede Zonal Command proceeded to the scene, with a backup team joining them from the Fire Service Headquarters, Abere.

“The address of the fire incident is Tijani Kabiru Road, Akankan Area, Ede North LG. The street was named after the deceased, who was a Customs officer from Oyo/Osun Command.

“Mr. Tijani Kabiru, who was reported to be in his late 40s, and his wife, said to be in her early 40s, lost their lives to the inferno, which is believed to have started about an hour before the fire service received the information.

“They (the couple) lost their lives along with four of their children (three boys and a girl), aged between three and ten years. The estimated loss due to the fire is around N200m, while the property saved is valued at N500m.

“Their bodies were handed over to the men of A’ Division of the Nigeria Police Force. Only one of their sons, out of the family of seven, escaped from the fire. The boy, who is about 13 years old, survived. The cause of the incident is still unknown, but a probe to unravel it has begun.”

Operatives of the Nigerian Police Force have reportedly arrested human rights lawyer, Dele Farotimi.

Farotimi’s arrest was disclosed by the 2023 presidential candidate of the African Action Congress, Omoyele Sowore, in a post on his X handle on Tuesday.

Sowore called for the lawyer’s immediate release, stressing that the police should not be used to settle personal disputes.

Sowore wrote, “It is pertinent that the Nigerian police are notified that the institution cannot continue to be used to settle personal scores, and we, the citizens of Nigeria, would no longer tolerate such a situation.”

“Therefore, the police at Zone 2 in Lagos are advised to release Barrister Dele Farotimi immediately.”

However, Punch Online made a phone call to the police spokesperson at the Zone 2 Command, SP Ummar Ayuba, who denied the arrest.

She simply said, “We did not make any arrest. He is not in our custody.”

Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Police in Ekiti State, Mr. Adeniran Akinwale, informed (Punch Online) that the lawyer was arrested for various alleged offences.

The commissioner said the charges included “defamation of character, cyberstalking, and other things. But those two are fully established.”

“That was why we have been looking for him before we were able to arrest him.”

“We are investigating him. If the suspect is arrested, we will bring him for investigation. We will conduct our investigation and will be able to know his level of culpability or otherwise.”

Credit: The Punch

The Governor of Lagos, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has enacted the Lagos Electricity Bill 2024.

This new law presents a comprehensive strategy designed to address challenges in the energy sector and is expected to lay the groundwork for economic and industrial growth in Lagos.

The governor formally signed the bill on Tuesday at the Lagos House in Ikeja.

“The bill is a major step by the state government to ensure a 24-hour electricity supply to every corner of the state, following the Federal Government’s approval for states to generate and distribute energy in 2023,” said the governor’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Gboyega Akosile, on X.

This development is expected to reduce the state’s reliance on the national grid.

At the signing ceremony, Sanwo-Olu highlighted the significance of the bill in transforming Lagos into a global city with a stable and continuous power supply.

In November, the Lagos State Government invited independent power producers and energy solution companies to submit bids for the construction of gas-fired power plants to address the state’s ongoing electricity shortage.

The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, in collaboration with the Office of Public-Private Partnerships, issued the call as part of an initiative to improve Lagos’s power supply through the Clean Lagos Electricity Market.

The announcement was made jointly by the Commissioner of the Ministry of Energy & Mineral Resources, Biodun Ogunleye, and the Special Adviser of the Office of Public-Private Partnerships, Bukola Odoe.