18th November 2025
IT was a tragic scene as two siblings were roasted during a night fire, which destroyed properties worth millions of naira at the Rumuola area of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State on Sunday.
The fire was said to have started from one of the rooms of a makeshift building where a mother had locked her four children and gone out to buy food items for cooking.
Eyewitnesses told our correspondent on Monday that of the four children, two, aged six and eight, were already asleep while their elder siblings were still awake when the fire started at about 10pm.
Although the cause of the fire could not be immediately ascertained, an eyewitness said social media reports claiming that the inferno occurred inside the Captain Elechi Amadi Polytechnic, Rumuola, were untrue, saying it actually happened behind the school.
He said the makeshift building housed many rooms with over 27 families living there and expressed sadness that they had been rendered homeless.
He stated, “It is a makeshift building behind the school. It is a gory site. I’m standing beside the corpses of two children who have lost their lives in this fire. Their bodies have been covered.”
Another eyewitness, simply identified as Meg, said, “The fire started from the woman who lost her two children. She was cooking at about 10pm yesterday (Sunday). The stove she was using to cook was on. She then locked the door to go and buy some ingredients.
When she came back, the fire had engulfed the building. The two children who were awake tried to save their younger siblings but later ran out because of the heat from the fire. So, that was how the two younger children were burnt to death.”
He further said the elder children were banging the door of their room, shouting for help from neighbours without response, before they found a way of escape, while their younger siblings, aged six and eight years respectively, were burnt beyond recognition.
Our correspondent reports that over 27 families living in the makeshift building have been rendered homeless as they were not able to salvage their properties before firefighters arrived.
It was further gathered that some neighbours and passers-by who saw thick black smoke billowing into the atmosphere later made calls to the fire service.
Upon arrival, though late, the firefighters put out the fire and prevented it from spreading.
When contacted, the spokesperson for the state police command, Grace Iringe-Koko, said she was in a meeting and asked our reporter to leave a message.
Iringe-Koko, a Superintendent of Police, had yet to respond to text and WhatsApp messages sent to her mobile as of the time of filing this report.
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