No fewer than 300 cabins occupied by sex workers and other residents of Small Kuramo, Jakande, in the Ajah area of Lagos, have been consumed by an overnight fire.
It was learnt that property estimated at millions of naira were lost to the inferno as the shanties were also used for business.
PUNCH Metro learnt that the incident happened around 11pm on Wednesday.
The true cause of the fire could, however, not be ascertained as residents gave different versions of the incident.
A resident, who identified himself as Godwin, told our correspondent that a candle light started the inferno.
He said, “A lot of people live here. Most of them were people pursued from Kuramo on Victoria Island and they relocated here.
“This place gets busy from 8pm till dawn because people usually come here at that time for business.
“Last night, a woman who lit a candle stick in her room forgot it and the candle fell and caught fire.”
He said efforts to put off the flame were abortive as it quickly spread to other blocks.
Another resident, Sodiq Agunbiade, however, said the fire was caused by a woman preparing meal in one of the cabins.
He said there was an explosion, which grew into an inferno.
Agunbiade, who sold drinks in the area, added that he lost about N6m to the fire.
“It was very unfortunate. We all did our best, but it was not enough. Many of us still cannot understand how it happened,” he said.
Our correspondent observed some shop owners salvaging their property from the rubble, while others shovelled their charred goods into shallow pits dug around the site.
A local government area official, who pleaded anonymity, told our correspondent the area was occupied by sex workers.
“The people living here are mostly sex workers. They do their businesses and live in the cabins. You can see that yourself,” he added.
A resident said they suspected that hoodlums in the area caused the fire.
The resident, who did not identify himself, said, “We suspect sabotage. Some of our people here said they saw some boys throwing bottles of petrol to strengthen the inferno.
“We have no idea why anybody will want this place razed down. The report we are getting now is that they want to resell the land. We want the government to please intervene.”
A business owner, Izeigie Papa, aka Paragon, accused the men of the Lagos State Fire Service of negligence, saying they delayed in responding to their call for help.
He said, “I sell drinks and palm wine. I was actually around when I saw the fire and it grew into an uncontrollable inferno. We made efforts to put it out, but it didn’t work
“The fire service men did not respond on time and when they came, things were already out of hand. They didn’t do anything. They only stood like observers.”
But the Director of the Lagos State Fire Service, Razak Fadipe, said the people in the area obstructed the firemen from doing their job.
He said, “Over 300 bolt up buildings were consumed by the fire while some other buildings were saved with three fire trucks from Eti Osa, Onikan and Sari Iganmu.
“The fire started as a result of a generator that was being fuelled while working. It exploded and while they were trying to battle it on their own, it became uncontrollable.
“On our arrival, we met the raging fire, but we were attacked. Some of the residents also wanted us to start the firefighting from their end, so they were dragging the hose with the firemen and rough handled some of them. They smashed a fire truck windscreen.”
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