A 40-year-old woman, Rafiat Sheriff, and her seven-year-old daughter, Asisat, have been confirmed dead after a gas explosion rocked a residence situated on Church Street, beside Ebute Road, in the Ibafo region of Ogun State, last weekend.
It was learnt that the tragic event took place around 8:30 pm on a Saturday night, injuring two others.
The spokesperson of the Ogun State Police Command, Omolola Odutola, has confirmed the occurrence of the incident, stating that it happened Saturday night when the mother instructed her seven-year-old daughter to prepare a meal.
“The girl was attempting to light up the gas cylinder when the entire house went up in flames.
“The mother and the child lost their lives in the explosion. Two other girls, including one of the children of the deceased, are currently receiving treatment in the hospital
,” the police spokesperson noted.
Barely two weeks ago, over a hundred houses reportedly suffered unfortunate destruction in a cooking gas explosion which rocked Jamata, a neighbourhood within the Lokoja Local Government Area of Kogi State.
The explosion toppled structures and damaged properties valued at millions of naira.
Upon inspecting the impacted area, the Commissioner for Solid Minerals and Natural Resources in Kogi State, Bashir Abubakar Gegu, expressed sorrow over the damages and encouraged the residents to exercise caution when handling cooking gas.
“I am urging all and sundry to abide by the rules of gas usage. This accident is avoidable, but for negligence and failure to abide by the safety rules of the use of cooking gas, this happened,” the commissioner noted.
He promised the victims of the state government’s prompt and sustained assistance, allowing them to recover and continue with their business operations.
News about the Kogi explosion was reported hours after explosions were heard at the Dangote Group refinery located in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos State.
The cause of the fire outbreak was not immediately ascertained.
However, it was gathered that workers at the Dangote Refinery immediately vacated the affected section to enable fire service officials to quench the raging fire.
