March 2, 2023

A 12 year-old boy, Kamal Ibrahim, passed away on Wednesday calling for help when a midnight inferno engulfed their room in Biu town of Borno State.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the tragic incident also claimed the lives of another 13 year-old boy, Aliyu Usman, and an elderly woman, Hajiya Maryam Ali-Ahmadu.

The fire, which exact cause is yet to be ascertained, started from the ceiling of one of the rooms in the family house of the deceased.

Narrating the incident to NAN, a member of the family, Mrs Zara Aliyu, told NAN that occupants of the house were sleeping in other rooms, and only got alerted when the fire had become uncontrollable.

“Maryam and Aliyu were asleep, but Kamal got alerted and started calling his father for help, shouting Baba, Baba, but unfortunately, the fire had gone wild.

“We all gathered and were helpless because the fire was ragging; at a point, Kamal’s father, Ibrahim, who was in a different room when the fire started could not resist.

“He tried to brave the situation but could not save his child, ending up being hospitalised because of the burns he sustained.

“It was terribly traumatic; we listened helplessly while Kamal’s voice faded as he relentlessly called his father for help”, she narrated in agony.

She said it took them and neighbours over one hour to put off the fire, adding that the victims had already been buried. (NAN)