Two Children killed as late-night fire destroys Makeshift settlement in Rivers community

Two children have died after a late-night fire swept through a cluster of makeshift homes in the Rumuola area of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, Rivers State.

The fire occurred around 10 p.m. on Sunday near the Captain Elechi Amadi Polytechnic, destroying the settlement and displacing about 27 families. Properties worth millions of naira were also lost in the incident.

Sources said the fire started in one of the rooms where a mother reportedly left her four children locked inside while she stepped out to buy cooking ingredients, leaving a stove burning. A resident, identified simply as Edidiong, said two of the children were asleep while the older siblings were awake when the fire ignited.

“It is a gory sight. I’m standing beside the bodies of two children who lost their lives. Their bodies have been covered,” she said. “The fire started from the woman who lost her two children. She was cooking around 10 p.m. and left the stove on. When she returned, the entire place was on fire.”

She explained that the older children tried to rescue their younger siblings but were forced to escape because of the intense heat. The victims were initially said to be aged six and eight.

Spokesperson of the Rivers State Police Command, SP Grace Iringe-Koko, later confirmed the deaths and clarified that the children were aged nine and five. She said an investigation has begun to determine the exact cause of the fire, adding that the mother has been invited for questioning as part of the inquiry.

Fire service officials eventually arrived at the scene and prevented the blaze from spreading further.