Tragedy: Three-month-old baby burnt to death in Makurdi

A three-month-old baby has been burnt to death in a fire incident at Awe street in the Wurukum suburb of Makurdi in Benue State.

Witnesses said the fire incident occurred on Monday morning.

Our correspondent, who visited the scene on Wednesday, reports that four rooms were affected by the fire in the compound with two other detached rooms not torched.

A neighbour said it took the combined efforts of the ‘area boys’ and a neighbour who had a tank of water to quench the inferno because the Fire Service did not respond on time.The mother of the baby killed in the fire, Hamida Abdul narrated that she left the infant in the custody of a neighbour to attend school (Makarantha) when the incident happened.“I was not at home when the incident occurred. Before I left home for makarantha, I bathed my three-month-old girl and gave her to my neighbour. I saw that she was very beautiful after I dressed her before leaving home.

“I was at makarantha when they called me that fire was burning.

“Nobody remembered that my baby was inside the room. I used to leave her before the unfortunate incident in the care of my neighbour.

“By the time I rushed back crying, the fire was subsiding and it was when it occurred to them that my baby was inside; it was too late. The fire had already razed the house down.

The bereaved mother now left with one child, a two-year-old son, lamented the death of her daughter, as she further explained that her own apartment in the compound was not affected by the fire.

When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Catherine Anene, said the matter may not have been reported to the police so she could not confirm the incident.