Some victims of the early morning fire, which gutted 28, Ola Str., Ijesa Road, Itire, Lagos, on Friday called on the state government for support to overcome the trauma.
The victims, who made the appeal, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that they had lost all their properties worth millions of naira in the fire.
A fashion designer, Mrs Ifeoma Okorie, said that she lost bundles of clothes, belonging to her customer, to the inferno.
According to her, the clothes are meant for wedding and burial parties.
“As I am now, I’m confused; I don’t know what I will tell the owners of the clothes.
“The Lagos State Government should please come to our aid,’’ she said.
Both 28-year-old Sunday Akpan and 40-year-old Mrs Felicia Bassey from Akwa Ibom also called for the state government’s support, to ensure their survival.
The Leader of the team from the Lagos State Fire Service, Isolo Fire Station, described the destruction to the 12-room bungalow as “massive and severe’’
“We received the distress call at 6.30 a.m.,’’ the officer, who pleaded anonymity because he is not allowed to speak to the Press, said.
According to him, the cause of the fire could not be immediately ascertained.
A tenant in the neighbourhood, who also does not want her name in print, told NAN that the caretaker simply identified as Emeka from Delta, sold the property last year for N16 million and absconded.
She said that the caretaker sold the property consisting of four rooms in the main building and eight additional rooms in the boy’s quarters without the owner’s consent.
Meanwhile, a NAN correspondent who was at the scene of the inferno, reports that emergency responders and the Police were seen cordoning off the burnt property.
This is as tenants were seen picking little things they could salvage from the ruin of their homes.
The victims were also seen in groups lament their losses. (NAN)