Bamigbola Gbolagunte, Akure

A septuagenarian and four of her children were at the weekend burnt to death in Biagbini, a riverine community in Ese Odo Local Government Area of Ondo State.

The woman, identified as Mrs. Moyo Jide, was said to be sleeping with her four grandchildren inside their room when fire gutted the house.

A source in the town gave the names of the deceased grandchildren as Jennifer, Gbana, Bigdaddy and Wisdom.

Two of the grandchildren were said to be living with the grandmother since the death of their father a few years ago.

Although the cause of the inferno could not be ascertained, an eyewitness said the incident might be caused by the cooking fire used in the kitchen of the deceased.

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He said apart from the death, many property in the house were razed.

A resident of the community, who craved anonymity, said the fire started in the midnight of Saturday when the deceased were asleep.

“Everybody in the community was awake in the middle of the night when the fire started but there was nothing we could do to rescue the victims and everything in the house was destroyed.

“We are yet to know the cause of the fire, but we suspect it could be the cooking fire that was not properly put out in the kitchen that caused the inferno because we use firewood here and there is no electricity in the community,” the resident said.

The matter, the resident said, has been reported to the police at Arogbo Police Division, while the corpses of the deceased had been deposited in the hospital.

Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Femi Joseph, confirmed the incident and said investigation is ongoing on the matter, saying: “We are yet to ascertain the cause of the fire, but we have commenced our investigation into the matter.”