By Nneka Nwogwugwu
A staff of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), who is also an Engineer, Mr Sunday Joseph Umbuguala and his family of six have all been consumed by an inferno that occurred at his residence.
The deceased who is from Eggon, Nasrawa Eggon Local Government Area of Nasarawa State is a 40-year-old graduate of Mechanical Engineering from the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), who until his death was an employee of NNPC attached to the Kaduna Refinery.
Other casualties of the fire outbreak include Umbuguala’s 38-year-old wife Emiria, their three children (Elmond 8, Eliana 5 and Elma 3) as well as two relations Justina and Patience.
They were all burnt to ashes in the fire outbreak said at a time there was no electricity supply either from the public source, the generator or even power inverter.
Speaking to the late wife’s sister recently, the Nation reported that the sad event occurred around 2 am on February 22.
Narrating how the event occurred, Mrs Mohammed said: “I spoke with my younger sister on the phone at about 9pm and she told me that she was plaiting her daughter’s hair as they were preparing to resume from the mid-term break.
“I also spoke with the children and they were happy and lively, saying that they would be in school again after the mid-term break. I had no inkling that it was the last time I would hear their voice.
“They all went to bed with the hope of making it to school the next day. But at about 2am, fire broke out from the house, consuming the bedroom where the family members slept and the other bedroom where the two other relations were also sleeping.
“What surprised us the most was that the fire did not affect the kitchen where there was cooking gas. It did not also touch the generator which was also not on. There was a small fish pond and poultry farm attached to the house and they were also not affected.
“So we are actually shocked about the source of the fire outbreak since there was no light for one to say that it could have come from a spark.
“That was how the entire family left this world. They were all young. They came to the world briefly and went back. It was such a sad incident.”
She said her loss was compounded by the trauma of having to lose her deceased younger sister, her husband, the three kids as well as the two other grown up girls who are also members of the family in dreams almost on a daily basis.