TheCable

Jimoh Ibrahim, a Nigerian businessman, has lost his mother to a domestic fire incident.

The fire, which broke out at Road 3B8 Victoria Garden City (VGC), Lekki residence, where she lived was said to have been caused by a lit candle.

Eyewitness account said the 78-year-old Omofemiwa Jimoh lit the candle for prayers.

However, the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) said the fire was caused by a power surge.

LRU fire & Rescue unit on a fire rescue operation at VGC, fire was caused by a Power surge.

Please lets all endeavor to check all power units in our individual homes regularly. #Call112 #LagosCares pic.twitter.com/QihkYyYOGl

— LRU #Call112 (@lasemasocial) January 19, 2019

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Confirming the incident, Rasak Musbau, director of the Lagos State Fire Service, said residents on the estate tried to manage the inferno before calling on firefighters.

“We got the call in the early hours of Saturday and the Lekki Fire Station responded to it. The VGC estate has a fire unit. So, before we were called, they had been trying to contain the fire on their own; but they were overwhelmed. Their vehicle also had a fault,” he said.

“When we got there, the fire was well alight. We recovered the woman with the joint efforts of LASEMA officials, who took away her corpse. What we gathered was that she always had prayer sessions, and maybe in the process, she lit a candle and slept off.”

Her remains are said to be have been deposited in the morgue.