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Fire engulfs house in Lagos, roasts 6 members of the family, Including 3weeks old baby
Tragedy struck yesterday after a family of seven were roasted in a fire that engulfed a building at Lawanson, Surulere, Lagos.
However, doctors at the Intensive Care Unit of Gbagada General Hospital are battling to save the life of the seventh member of the family, eight-year-old Chidinma who sustained serious burns.
Among those who lost their lives in the inferno, whose cause could not be immediately ascertained, were Mr. Kelechi Ali, his wife, Nkiru, Onoja, their baby boy of about three weeks old, their son, Favour, of about three years old.
Also killed in the fire were Onoja’s mother, who was on a visit to care for her nursing daughter, and two other children, aged eight and ten years respectively, who were said to have visited for the summer holiday.
The grandmother, said to be in her 60s, had reportedly concluded plans to return to her base at Nsukka , Enugu State yesterday before the unfortunate incident.
The fire, it was gathered, started in Ali’s self-contained apartment located on 21, Michael Ogun street, Obele Lawanson, at about 11pm Tuesday while the family was asleep.
It reportedly raged for over an hour before the arrival of the fire service. Their shout for help alerted other residents but no one heeded the call.
Vanguard gathered that their charred remains were recovered in different positions by men of Lagos State Fire Service.
The charred remains of the father was said to have been mangled together with two of his children, while that of his wife was seen with her little baby on her chest.
When Vanguard visited the scene yesterday, those on rescue were still sighted clearing the debris. An eyewitness who identified herself as Abure Hanna, said: “A few minutes into my sleep, I heard voices which sounded like people were quarrelling.
‘’Later, I heard shout of fire from the next compound. I ran out and started calling neighbours to come and help. I think the fire had been on for about 30 minutes before I came out. The fire service came late to the scene after the fire had been doused by residents.”
Another resident, who pleaded anonymity, stated that the family members could have been rescued had neighbours went for their rescue on time.
“Everybody stayed put in their houses even when the family was shouting for help. This is because of the lingering quarrel between the family and their neighbours.
‘’As you can see , there are three houses in the compound but the middle one occupied by the Onojas was the one affected. This is not ordinary because even the connecting wires to other buildings were not affected.“
Traditional ruler breaks down
The traditional ruler of Surulere, High Chief Kareem Jinadu Awoyemi, broke down in tears as he arrived the scene, blaming other neighbours for not rising to the help of the affected family.
Awoyemi said: “There are issues brought to me that occupants of the three buildings in the compound were never in good terms.
‘’This is just too much. How could this type of thing escalate to this level when the victims had neighbours?.“ At this point, he stopped, shook his head and burst into tears again before leaving the scene.
Attempt to burn other buildings foiled
When news of the neglect by other neighbours filtered round, some aggrieved persons suspected to be members of the deceased family attempted to burn down the two other buildings whose tenants were accused of turning deaf ears to their relatives’ cry for help.
Attempt by some sympathisers to stop this move resulted in an altercation that almost led to a fight. It took the intervention of policemen from Surulere Division, led by the DPO, Mr Monday Agbonika, to arrest the situation.
But when Vanguard approached him at the scene, he declined comments, referring Vanguard to the State Police Public Relations Officer.
One of the aggrieved relatives who refused to disclose his identity said: “The family went to the market yesterday to get items for the mother-in-law as their tradition demands to celebrate the arrival of the new born baby after one month of Omugwo.
‘’This morning, they were supposed to go to the village, the man has already purchased bus tickets and now they are dead. The father was a trader who sold sewing materials on Lagos Island, while his wife, is a parishioner at Saint Mulumba Catholic Church, Lawanson, Lagos.’’
Donations for survivor
Meanwhile, a man was seen collecting money from sympathisers . When asked what the money was meant for, the man who spoke on condition of anonymity, said : “We are donating for the treatment of the little girl that is in the hospital. Chidinma (survivor ) is in critical condition in the hospital and we are doing all we can to ensure her survival. Doctors said she has a fifty-fifty chance of survival.’’
Lagos State Fire Service Director, Rasaq Fadipe, said fire trucks were deployed to the scene immediately the distress call was received.
Vanguard
More than ₦3 billion was targeted, but about ₦677 million reached the culprits, with recovery and prosecutions underway, reflecting how banks are responding to more sophisticated fraud risks.
Nigeria’s expanding digital banking sector is facing increasingly sophisticated fraud attempts, as financial institutions adapt to faster transactions and broader online services.
A recent case involving First City Monument Bank (FCMB), linked to fraudulent activity detected in December 2025, has drawn attention to how banks are responding to such incidents, with a focus on limiting exposure, recovering funds and working with law enforcement.
According to findings referenced in proceedings before the Lagos State Special Offences Court, the incident involved unauthorised transactions tied to a digital product. Early reports erroneously suggested more than ₦3 billion was lost. Subsequent clarification shows that over ₦3 billion was targeted, ₦2.4 billion was blocked and recovered, while ₦677 million got into the possession of the culprits. This outcome reflects the bank’s cyber security and monitoring capabilities, as well as improved collaboration among regulated financial institutions and with law enforcement agencies. Several suspects and beneficiaries have been apprehended, while recovery and prosecution efforts are ongoing, led by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Proceedings at the Lagos State Special Offences Court have resulted in convictions, including that of a repeat offender, with restitution orders issued. Related matters are also being handled at the Federal High Court in Lagos, where additional suspects are being tried in connection with the scheme. This process is aimed at ensuring that bad actors are identified and permanently blacklisted from the financial system.
Authorities say recovery efforts are continuing as additional funds are traced.
Analysts note that the pace of legal action reflects closer coordination between financial institutions and enforcement agencies in addressing cyber-related financial crime.
The case comes as banks contend with more complex fraud methods, including social engineering and automated exploitation of system processes.
As digital products and platforms expand, so too does the risk associated with cyber-crime and related fraud.
“The scale of digital banking means risks are evolving alongside the systems,” said a Lagos-based financial analyst. “Institutions are now judged by how they manage these events.”
Observers say the sector is moving toward a stronger focus on response and recovery, rather than prevention alone.
This includes improving monitoring capabilities, strengthening transaction controls and enhancing collaboration with regulators and law enforcement. The FCMB case, with limited exposure relative to the amount targeted and ongoing recovery, reflects that shift.
For customers, the primary concern is the safety of their funds. In this case, there has been no indication of losses affecting customer deposits. Maintaining that level of protection remains central to sustaining trust in the financial system.
Nigeria’s financial sector continues to grow, supported by digital innovation and expanding access to banking services.
However, analysts say fraud attempts are likely to persist as systems become more complex and interconnected.
They say institutions will increasingly be judged not only on their ability to prevent incidents, but on how effectively they respond and recover when they occur.
news
Ex-APC Deputy Guber flag bearer, Joshua MacIver backs Tinubu, express fears over implosion in Bayelsa APC
….congratulates new State Party Chairman, Warman Ogoriba
APC Deputy Governorship Candidate in the 2023 general elections in Bayelsa State, Great Joshua MacIver has declared his total commitment to the re-election of President Bola Tinubu come 2027, declaring that the Tinubu re-election project is non-negotiable.
Great Joshua MacIver, in his statement titled ” BAYELSA APC CONGRESSES: GOING FORWARD, A CALL TO LOOK INWARDS” and made available to newsmen in Yenagoa, warned APC leaders in the state to look Inward and take note of certain factors which may hinder or cut short our victory.
According to Great Joshua MacIver, such noticeable pitfalls include the imbalance in the united front being put up by the State Governor,Senator Douye Diri among various political blocs in the state.
In the statement issued at the weekend. Great Joshua MacIver stated that “First, before His Excellency, Senator Douye Diri, joined the APC in the state, there were clearly two political blocs that made up the party, with the approximate population ratios of the blocs standing at 95% to 5%.”
“After the entrance of His Excellency, Senator Douye Diri, ONLY THE SMALLER BLOC IS BEING CARRIED ALONG IN THE AFFAIRS OF THE PARTY, leaving the greater percentage to their fate, and this situation has the potential to build anger and dissatisfaction in our dear party.”
” The consequence of this has been the high level defection we have witnessed in the party recently and we believe more may likely follow, if we do not put our house in order.”
” If we do not pull together as a party, we may witness a situation where we will lose key stakeholders, especially after the State and National Assembly Primaries as well the Gubernatorial Primaries.”
“Finally, while it is very clear that we are the party to beat in the 2027 elections and that our loyalty to Mr. President IS NON-NEGOTIABLE, we must make haste to say that we cannot afford to create situations or loopholes in our unity which will be exploited by other political interests in the state. We cannot afford to under-rate anyone.”
“Our core interest remains the re-election of Mr. President, a project to which we have committed our all. We also pledge our total loyalty to the party as we have no alternative to the APC. However, our concern is that we must, as a party, look inwards and ensure that we do not create loopholes that can impede our common goal.”
Great Joshua MacIver, however congratulated the newly elected State Executives of the APC in Bayelsà State led by Hon. Warman Ogoriba, saying their emergence is welcomed at this critical time in our national history.
At least 23 people were killed in a series of suspected suicide bombings, police in Nigeria’s northeastern city of Maiduguri said on Tuesday.
https://www.stanbicibtcbank.com/nigeriabank/personal/products-and-services/all-loans/stanbic-ibtc-mreif-home-loans
More than 100 other people were injured in the blasts that took place on Monday evening in the capital of Nigeria’s restive Borno state.
No group has claimed responsibility for the suspected attacks.
The deadly blasts come after a military post was attacked overnight Sunday to Monday, which authorities blamed on suspected Islamist militants.
This sad incident is coming barely two weeks after Primate Elijah Ayodele, the Leader of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church specifically warned against attacks in some states. He mentioned these states while calling on security operatives to pay close attention to them.
These were his words:
“Another attack is coming up in these following states where the military must watch carefully and intelligently; Kano, Kaduna, Zamfara, Kebbi, Niger, Borno, Kwara and Kogi state. They want to do a deadly attack, it’s preventable but it depends on how they will handle it. I have told you about the danger coming up.”
@primateayodele
Unfortunately, some of our military agencies don’t believe spiritual intelligence can save the country from so much danger hence, their neglect of this prophetic warning but now, it has been fulfilled with the miliary losing credibility by the day while Primate Ayodele continues to gain momentum.
Likewise, At least 26 passengers and crew sustained varying degrees of injuries on Monday following an accident involving the Kaduna–Abuja train, according to the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC).
Opeifa explained that the train departed Rigasa in Kaduna at 7:15 a.m. and was approaching Asham station around 9:16 a.m. when a loud bang was heard after the power car and trailing locomotive collided with one of the passenger coaches.
In July 2025, Primate Ayodele asked nigerians to pray not to see train mishap on the Kaduna-Abuja route.
@primateayodele #nigeriantiktok🇳🇬 #fulfillment #train #abuja #primateayodele
“Let’s pray not to see train mishap in Abuja-Kaduna, Kaduna-Abuja route.”
This has also been fulfilled.
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