As a nocturnal fire destroyed their room in Biu, Borno State, Kamal Ibrahim, 12, died on Wednesday while pleading for aid.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the unfortunate occurrence also resulted in the deaths of Aliyu Usman, 13, and Hajiya Maryam Ali-Ahmadu, an elderly woman.
The ceiling of one of the rooms in the deceased’s family home caught fire; its precise origin is still unknown.
A family member, Mrs. Zara Aliyu, described the incident to NAN, saying that the residents were sleeping in other rooms and were only notified when the fire became out of control.
Maryam and Aliyu were dozing off when Kamal became alarmed and began yelling, “Baba, Baba,” to his father in an attempt to wake him up. However, the fire had already gotten out of control.
“We all gathered and were powerless against the raging flames; at one point, Kamal’s father, Ibrahim, who had been in a different room when the fire began, was unable to resist.
He made an effort to brave the situation but was unable to save his child; as a result, he ended up in the hospital with burns.
We watched helplessly as Kamal’s voice grew weaker and weaker as he frantically called his father for assistance, she recalled in misery.
She claimed that it took them and the neighbours more than an hour to put out the fire and added that the victims had already been laid to rest.
