Eniola Oduse, a 22-year-old fashion designer, and her two children, Eri, four, and Onoara, two, were charred to death after suspected arsonists set fire to their home in the Ita Marun neighbourhood in Lagos State’s Ibeju Lekki district.
The deceased’s husband, Kehinde, 25, was also caught in the fire and is presently fighting for his life in an unidentified hospital.
Chronicle NG gathered on Sunday that the incident occurred in the early hours of Tuesday, November 26.
The family of four was sleeping in their room on Monday night when some unidentified individuals arrived at 2 a.m.
The perpetrators were reported to have sprayed fuel throughout their flat and particularly poured it into their room before setting it on fire.
Taiwo, the victim’s twin sister, told our correspondent on Sunday that while her brother escaped out of the room for help, his wife and two children did not survive.
She said, “The incident happened around 2 am. My brother and his family were already asleep when the people came and poured petrol on the building.
“Meanwhile, my brother had opened his window to allow ventilation. When they saw the window open, they sprinkled petrol in their room. The smell of the petrol woke the wife, who quickly called her husband’s attention to the smell.
“By the time they attempted to find out what was going on, they saw someone light a fire and throw it into their room. Kehinde, with fire on his body, quickly ran out of the house to call his relative living close to the house. Although the relative did not respond to his call, it was another neighbour who heard his voice and ran out to help.”
According to Taiwo, when Kehinde’s wife and two children returned to the flat, the fire had already spread.
She said, “When they got back to the house, they saw the wife lying on the entrance of the house with the legs of her two kids in her arms. She actually tried to drag them out, but the fire was too much, and the kids were already dead at the time.”
Another member of the victim’s family, named as Razaq, said the couple was brought to several hospitals around midnight but were turned down owing to the severity of the burns.
He stated that they were transported about for medical attention for approximately seven hours before being referred to a hospital and admitted.
“They were eventually taken into a hospital somewhere in Lagos where they were attended to. But at the time they got medical attention, they were both weak. Doctors tried to save the wife, but she later died in the early hours of Thursday. We really can’t ascertain the situation of Kehinde at the moment.”
It was gathered that the victim’s deceased wife and children had been buried.
In a video sighted by our correspondent, the residence was razed with the charred remains of the two children lying inside.
Furthermore, Razaq alleged that the cause of the incident was not unconnected to issues relating to land in the community.
He said, “The family has been under pressure and a series of attacks due to attempts to seize their land running into hectares from them.
“This was a part of what led to the death of their father about four months ago. His brother had also fled the community due to this, but Kehinde chose to stay behind because of his family. He was not at home for about some days. He only came back that Monday to spend the night with his family when this incident happened.”
The spokesperson for the state police command, Benjamin Hundeyin, had yet to comment on the incident at the time of filing this report.
