Former Executive Chairman, Umuneochi Local Government Area, Chief Honourable Ifeanyi Madu has cried foul over the razing of his house, a duplex by fire at Umuobia Housing Estate, in Umuahia, the Abia state capital and calls for thorough investigation to determine the cause of the inferno.
Chief Madu, who resides outside the country said, one of his brothers, Ogochukwu Ihewe Peter informed him that at about 3:00am on April 10, he received an unusual phone call.
“The call was made by my Children’s aunt who lives in Enugu state who announced to my younger brother that my first son’s room had been overtaken by fire.
“My brother made multiple efforts to reach both my Children and their mother but all his efforts failed, and it was so risky for him to leave his house at such ungodly hour.”
Chief Madu disclosed that in the morning, his younger brother rushed to his house that was about five kilometers from where he lives.
“Upon arrival, my brother realized that everything went under the sledge hammer of fierce inferno and no valuable was recovered.
“The nature of the fire raised alot of questions and leaves doubts in the minds of eye witnesses.”
Madu said the source of the fire still remains in doubt considering the fact that the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC), had since disconnected the building as to say it was cause by power surge.
“The second question is, how come about the fire to that particular room since its only occupant was away for five days, and the incident happened on the fifth day of his absence.
“If he left a candle light on his departure, it could have died down and not continue burning till the fifth day. Third is that the burnt room was on the 1st floor and not close to the kitchen.”
The distressed man opined that for the fact it took his children’s aunt in Enugu State to alert his brother who lives in Umuahia and who should have been the first point of contact, leaves lots of doubt about the incident.
Madu pointed an accusing finger at someone he didn’t mention his name, who he said had threatened to burn down the house sometime ago, but was stopped.
“Lots of shenanigans surround this incident and leaves everyone mouth agape. The only thing I could remember is that back in 19th/20th Dec. 2020, someone had threatened to burn my house but was stopped by some civil means.”
Chief Madu who said he now lives in fear as the incident threatens the safety of his children and his properties, as he called for an urgent and proper investigations of the source of the fire.
Mrs. Madu, who was at home with her children at the time, on her own account, said the alarm was raised by her house girl.
“ Speaking to newsmen, Mrs. Madu said, the fire incident happened around 3:00 a.m. while they were asleep. She said; ‘ My house girl started shouting that she was choking from smoke and ran to my room, banging and yelling, ‘Mummy, fire!’ I quickly grabbed my 10-year-old daughter and we rushed downstairs,” she recounted. She said the smoke was traced to her son’s room.
“When we forced the door open, thick smoke filled the room and flames were coming from his bed. My son was not at home; he had travelled five days earlier,” she said.
According to her, initial efforts by her children to put out the fire were unsuccessful, prompting her to raise alarm. “Neighbours came out with buckets of water and helped to put out the fire before the Unuahia fire service people arrived,”
She said the cause of the fire remains unknown, noting that there had been no public electricity supply for about two weeks, while the solar system had shut down earlier that night. “No formal complaint has yet been lodged with the police, as at the time of this report, she told newsmen
When contacted, the Chief Fire Officer of Abia State, Mr. Nnanna Arua, confirmed the incident and said the prompt response of firefighters helped prevent the fire from spreading.
“When we received the distress call, we responded promptly and were able to contain the fire from spreading to nearby buildings. Investigations are still ongoing to determine the cause,” he told our reporter.
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