A five year-old girl, Nifemi, was burnt to death, while her mother and two siblings suffered severe burns when their makeshift house was allegedly set ablaze by a 45-year-old man.
The Commissioner of Police in Lagos, Mr Imohimin Edgal, confirming the incident to newsmen in Lagos, said that they were sleeping at their Powerline Area residence in Alagbado, Lagos, when the incident happened.
Edgal, who spoke to newsmen on Wednesday when he visited the scene of the crime, said that the suspect had been arrested.
He identified the victims as Mrs Anitan and her children- Ayo, Esther and Nifemi.
According to him, one of the children, Nifemi, five years, died as a result of the burns she suffered, while the woman and her two other children suffered various degrees of burns.
“They are currently receiving treatment at Gbagada General Hospital.
“This is the dwelling place for a woman and three of her children.
“They were sleeping and suddenly there was fire outbreak. They sustained severe burns before they were rushed to the hospital.
“Fortunately, the Divisional Police Officer and his team that came to their rescue did a painstaking search.
“They were able to recover a phone which was traced to Shola Adewunmi, who previously had serious altercation with the woman.
“Evidence we have so far is that the man purposely set fire on the house with intent to burn both the woman and her children alive.
“He has been arrested and I have ordered that he be taken to the state CID for further investigation,” he said.
The police chief said that the suspect would be properly investigated and charged to court, assuring the public that outcome of the investigation would be made known.
In another development, Edgal blamed people who refused to give information about the activities of NNPC pipeline vandals for the fire incident that happened at Abule-Egba area of the state on Wednesday morning.
Edgal, who was on the spot assessment at the scene, described the incident as unfortunate which he said could have been avoided if information was given to security agents.
He described the area as “notorious in pipeline vandalism’’.
The police chief said that the command was waiting for the official report from the agencies in charge of pipelines, fire service and emergency in the state.
He said that preliminary investigation by his men revealed that the fire spread through the gutters filled with petroleum product from a ruptured NNPC pipeline which destroyed houses, shops, electricity cables and more than 50 vehicles.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the spot where fire started was covered with a container and filled with sand.
Some of the residents of Pipelines Road, Off Awori, Abule-Egba, claimed they never knew that vandals were siphoning fuel from the NNPC pipelines, while some admitted seeing fuel tankers from the spot.
NAN reports that the fire, which started at about 2.00a.m on Wednesday, affected more than five streets.
The fire had since been put off by the Lagos State Fire Service and other emergency response agencies. (NAN)