Journalist Loses Her Daughter And Grandson To House Fire

Juliana Olajide, a journalist with the University of Jos Ice FM in Plateau State, lost her 17-year-old daughter and grandson in a fire that destroyed the family’s flat.

Daily Trust learned that the cause of the fire had yet to be determined, but the family feared an electrical surge.

Mrs Olajide and her husband were also burned while attempting to save their children from the fire.

“All I could remember was that I was forced to wake up at a quarter to midnight to realize that the whole apartment was covered with thick smoke,” she said.

“I rushed out to my children’s room but I could not access their room because our sitting room was already engulfed in flames. I ran to my husband’s room. My husband had to walk through the fire to alert neighbours to help us. We had to break louvres to access our children to rescue them from the fire,” Mrs Olajide, who was revived at JUTH, told the publication.

It was reported that neighbours went to the family’s aid and transported them to the hospital.

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“I lost my 17-year-old daughter and my two-year-old grandson. My husband is in another ward battling with his life also,” she added.

Rhema and Israel, the family’s twins, were reportedly responding well to the hospital’s treatment.

After sustaining burns to his hands and face, the spouse, Isaac Olajide, was barely able to speak.

Leading her members to the hospital, Mary Dumtur, the secretary of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) Plateau State chapter, made a plea to people, governments, and corporate organisations to assist the family in getting over the disaster.

“They have lost everything including the house and all they had laboured for in life, they need to be assisted morally, spiritually and financially to enable the recovery from this disaster,” she said.

A Gentle Reminder: Every obstacle is a stepping stone, every morning; a chance to go again, and those little steps take you closer to your dream.

Nnamdi Okoli