The residents of a compound at Madaki Street, Bukuru, Jos South Local Government Area of Plateau State, have been thrown into mourning and left in total shock after a wild fire consumed a family.
Sadness, agony and a creepy feeling of hopelessness, have become the daily companions of 8-year-old Amina Adamu, The Sun exclusively reports.
The girl recently lost her parents and three siblings in a fire that engulfed their family compound at Madaki Street, Bukuru, Jos South Local Government Area of Plateau State.
Amina, the only surviving daughter of late 34-year-old Adamu Yusuf, and 29-year-old Mariyam Adamu, escaped death as she did not pass the night in the house on Saturday, December 9, 2017, when the strange fire broke out.
The fire also consumed her immediate younger brother, Abdullahi, 6, four-year- old Ibrahim and the baby of the house, nine-month-old Fatima.
Amina, a Primary 1 pupil of Peace Private School, Bukuru, had been sent out of school for unpaid fees ahead of the second term examination scheduled to commence on Monday, December 11, and she was visiting her grandmother to raise the money.
She passed the night at her grandmother’s place and was ignorant of her family’s fate until daybreak.
It was gathered that there was no electric power throughout the night, and no one could explain the cause of the strange fire that razed the house by 2am that night. The family members were trapped in their bedroom as the fire raged.
A neighbour who noticed the fire in the night raised the alarm and a crowd gathered to help, but nothing could be done to save the situation.
It was gathered that the matter was worsened by the fact that none of the four rooms in the house had a window, and, since fire had taken over the entrance, getting out became problematic. Also, those that attempted to rescue the victims could not gain access into the building because of the intensity of the fire. There was no water in the area to help put out the fire.
Adamu, until his death, was a butcher while the wife was a stay-at-home mum. Amina, the only survivor, still finds it hard to accept her fate. She is easily overwhelmed by grief whenever she remembers her parents and siblings are no more.
She told the reporter: “I went to see my grandmother to ask her for my school fees and I decided to pass the night there that day. I can’t believe that I will no longer see my parents. I am left alone with my grandmother who does nothing for a living. My parents have been buried with my younger ones.”
The 55-year-old mother of the deceased Yusuf, Amina Yusuf, has also remained inconsolable.
“I don’t know what could have cause the fire outbreak that night, and people are saying there was no electricity throughout the night. I don’t know where to start life from again. How could I lose all I have within one night? God, I need your help.”
