From Fred Ezeh, Abuja

The family of Daniel Chukwu, of Akaeze, in Ivo Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, is up in praise and thanksgiving to God. They are up in praise to God for the miracle of the life of their children, Princess and James, who survived a fire explosion, which consumed eight other children.

The explosion, which threw the entire Akaeze community into mourning on January 1, this year, consumed eight children, some of whom were siblings, in addition to property worth millions of naira destroyed in the inferno due to perceived “carelessness” of some people.

In expressing thanks to God for the miraculous escape, Mr. Chukwu mobilised friends, family members and other well-wishers to Assemblies of God Church, Wuse Zone 5, Abuja, to celebrate and appreciate God in dance and thanksgiving over His kindness to his family.

Mr. Chukwu told the congregation that he never expected what God did for him, neither did he know how best to appreciate God for the miracle of the survival of his children. Nevertheless, he submitted himself to God in appreciation. He said: “Undoubtedly, this thanksgiving and praise to God will last as long as myself, my wife and my children live on Planet Earth. Expectedly, our children were left with lifetime evidence of the experience on their bodies, but neither me, their mother nor our close family members were bothered. We are just grateful to God for the gift of life.

“The survival of James, nine, and Princess, 12, from the fire explosion was a marvel to medical doctors and other health workers that attended to the case at different hospitals in Ebonyi and Enugu states, where the children spent months under the close monitoring of the health workers.”

Chukwu said the sad event tested his faith in God but he was glad that he never submitted to the devil’s verdict on the lives of his children.

He further narrated that: “On the 1st of January, 2021, at about 10am in my compound in Akaeze community in Ivo Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, a group of people who were mostly relatives and other community members came in the name of New Year celebration and started shooting cannon (Nsi egbe) that could destroy things and human beings in particular.

“Surprisingly, the remainder of the carton of the gunpowder used the previous day was packed in a sitting room close to the area it was earlier used. Meanwhile, there were several particles of the gunpowder scattered around the house, perhaps, unknowingly.

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“As known to all who are familiar with gunpowder, the particles could easily ignite fire whene in contact with fire. That was what happened when fire followed the traces of the gunpowder to the sitting room, where the children were seated.

“I don’t know if I should call it carelessness or drunkenness that caused someone to allow fire spark from within the house, suspectedly from where the first cannon exploded. The fire followed the traces of the gunpowder on the floor straight to the parlour where about 10 children, both mine and neighbours, were watching the television and set them all on fire.

“Before help could come to them, they had been enveloped by fire and turned to black. It was difficult to identify them because of the magnitude of the injury sustained. They were quickly rushed to Abakaliki hospital for urgent medical attention. They spent six months in the hospital.

“Out of 10 children from different wombs that were in that room, eight died. The two that survived were my only children. The degree of the burns was over 40 per cent, which was high for the children, and they started dying one after the other, except my two children, James and Princess, that survived.

“At Abakaliki hospital, one of the doctors approached me privately telling me to make sure I don’t keep my children for long in the hospital because the Holy Spirit ministered to him to inform me to take them away, else they would die under 48 hours.

“To cut the story short, within two hours we found ourselves at Orthopaedic Hospital, Enugu, where doctors and nurses rallied round my children to see how they could revive the situation. They succeeded and the rest is history.”

“I can testify to the Glory of God that my children are now medically satisfied okay, and they are back in Abuja to continue their education. Over N4 million was spent to get these children back on their feet but that’s not my worry. My joy is that they are back on their feet. I thank all the people that contributed through prayers, financial assistance and moral support.”

He, however, attributed the ugly development to carelessness and possible drunken state of the people involved in the development. He, thus prayed the state government to place a ban on the shooting of canon during any celebration because of the level of carelessness being witnessed.

He confirmed that some families lost all their children in the inferno, including his brother who lost his children in the inferno. “It was, indeed, a big loss to our family and the entire Akaeze town,” he said.