Family narrowly survives landlord’s Okada explosion in Lagos

The tragedy was averted on Wednesday as a family of six, including a one-week-old baby, escaped death after their building in Okokomaiko area of Lagos went up in flames.

The inferno was said to have been caused by an explosion from a motorbike belonging to the landlord, one Mr Ishola Lukman, that was parked inside the building.

According to Vanguard, a woman, simply identified as Mrs Oyinkansola, was preparing a meal and had positioned her cooking stove and a kerosene lantern close to the motorcycle which allegedly led to the explosion.

The landlord of the building blamed Oyinkansola for the fire incident.

He said he had warned her several times not to cook in the veranda.

His words: “She purposely set my new bike on fire when she decided to put her lantern very close to it. If she had cooked by the side of her apartment the bike would not have burnt.

“I have been parking my bikes at that same spot for long. This particular one is new and it is the third I have bought. The fire would have been massive, but for the decking and swift response of neighbours who came to our rescue,” the landlord added.

But for the swift intervention of neighbours who broke down the doors of the house for the trapped tenants to escape, scores would have been burnt.

Some of the wounded victims have however been rushed to a hospital.