The death of Blessing Arigi-Osakwe has thrown the Old Airport
Road, Sokoto, neighbourhood in sorrow, after the 42-year-old mum died
due to injuries sustained while rescuing her children from a house fire.
According to Vanguard,
the sad incident occured in the early hours of Saturday after an
electrical fault caused the house fire, while they used a generating
set. The mum, her husband and two older children reportedly escaped the
fire initially. On discovering that two more children were trapped in
the burning house, she ran in to rescue them.
But Mrs Arigi-Osakwe sustained high-degree burns. The children, later
identified as her 9-year-old son and nephew, died in the inferno.
According to eye witnesses, the roof caved in on the desperate mum, and she passed away yesterday.
Newsmen confirm that the three bodies have been deposited in the
morgue of the Usman Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto, and
that the two older children are currently receiving treatment.
While the Director-General of the State Fire Service, Alhaji Ibrahim
Dingyadi, said that his department was not alerted, Mr. Elmustapha Sani,
the police spokesman in the state, also claimed that the incident was
not reported to the police.
But the spokesman of the teaching hospital, Mr. Tijjani Saddiqque, confirmed the story.
“The two children were brought into the Trauma Centre of the hospital on Saturday dead,” he said, adding, “However, their mother died at the hospital on Sunday (yesterday).”