They were both lovers whose major dreams were to eventually get married, have children and live happily ever after. Infact, they were already expecting a baby. But all these dreams recently went up in flames as a raging inferno on a Sunday afternoon gutted their residence and consumed the couple, as well!
The lovers were relaxing inside their one-room apartment located at Ojodu Street, Tolu, Ajegunle, Lagos, when a huge fire suddenly enveloped the entire building.
An unidentified young boy had unknowingly kicked over a plastic container of a substance suspected to be petrol and the combustible liquid had streamed down into the passage of the house, where another tenant was cooking with gas, resulting in an explosion, which sparked off the fire.
neighbours watched helplessly from afar how Buraimoh said to be a bouncer, and his pregnant lover, Bose, struggled in vain with the window burglar proof as the fire raged. But they were trapped! And having realised the futility of all their efforts
Within a twinkle of an eye, the entire building was engulfed by the fire, causing serious panic amongst tenants, who scampered to safety.
But the two lovers, identified as Sunday Buraimoh and Bose, his fiancé, were caught unawares and could not make good their escape in time before the raging inferno cast its dark smoke on the entire building and made their immediate escape impossible. By the time they realised they were in danger, the door to their apartment had become jammed and frantic efforts made by Buraimoh to remove the burglar proof on the window to enable him and his lover escape the inferno proved abortive.
After trying all possible means to rescue the trapped couple alive failed, neighbours watched helplessly from afar how Buraimoh said to be a bouncer, and his pregnant lover, Bose, struggled in vain with the window burglar proof as the fire raged. But they were trapped! And having realised the futility of all their efforts, Buraimoh was said to have started to wave to his neighbours to bid them farewell as time ticked away and no further rescue efforts could be made by anyone around. Help was now far from coming the way of the lovers in danger!
Suddenly, there was a loud explosion inside their room, ending all hopes of rescuing the two trapped lovers from the raging inferno alive!
The entire building was eventually razed by the fire, leaving the charred remains of the two lovers in its billowing smoke. The other tenants, also now rendered homeless, lost personal belongings and other valuables to the incident.
Explaining the circumstances that led to the fire incident, a neighbour to the lovers, who identified himself as Ade Adegoke, said, “The fuel spilled to where a woman was cooking with gas in the passage and it exploded. The ceiling caught fire immediately. Every occupant in the building escaped, except the unlucky lovers, Sunday and Bose, who were trapped in their room. Sunday tried to open the door and the burglar proof of the window, but all his efforts proved
abortive.
“We were screaming as we watched them through their open window. We tried to break the window, but when the force of the fire became so much, we had to withdraw so that we would not become casualties, too. At that juncture, Sunday began to wave his hand at us to say farewell. That was when everybody began to cry because he was so good and nice to everybody. He was preparing to marry Bose because she was also pregnant.”
Continuing, Adegoke said, “The fire razed the whole building and rendered many people homeless. Many were not at home because it was on a Sunday and the fire began around 4.30pm. Many returned home to meet their rooms burnt.”
At the funeral of the two lovers, our correspondent observed many people weeping and shedding tears as the charred remains of the deceased persons were being lowered into their graves at the Atan Cemetery, Yaba,
Lagos.
A sympathiser, who identified himself simply as Joseph, recalled at the cemetery, “At a time, we saw Sunny (Sunday Buraimoh) waving at everybody through his window. He had tried to remove the burglar proof with his bare hands but he could not. The door could no longer open because of the heat from the fire. Sunny and his lover, Bose were trapped inside and waiting to be consumed by the fire. We were looking at them until smoke took over the room. We heard an explosion from the room, but we suspected that it was the air conditioner that had exploded.
“That was when everybody screamed and began to cry that brother Sunny and Bose had died.”
The Divisional Police Officer of Tolu Police Station, Chief Superintendent of Police Uduak Udom, who led a team of policemen to the scene of the fire incident, called in the fire service. But it was too late. The deed had been done. The house had been razed and the lovers had been burnt inside their one-room apartment.
Buraimoh’s younger brother, Alfred, who is a barber, recalled how his elder brother had earlier that day come to have his hair cut at his salon.
Alfred said after the haircut, Buraimoh had promised to buy him a generator the next day because the one he was using was borrowed from a friend of his. But unfortunately, the fire incident made that
impossible.
Alfred said, “We are from Edo State while Bose came from Ondo State. My mother traveled to the United States of America since 1999 and up till date, she has never returned. I’m now all alone in this world.
“Sunday, you are my brother and father. Our father is dead and now you have joined him, leaving me alone in this world. Don’t leave me alone. Always be with me. May your soul rest in peace.”
But Bose’s relations, according to Alfred, would want their late pregnant daughter to be given what they had described as a “proper burial.” Alfred has, however, kicked against this, saying, “How can I do such a burial? My brother did not marry him. My brother had no child. She, too, had no child. My brother never told me he wanted to marry her. All I know is that they were lovers. They had been dating since they were in school. They loved each other and were living together before the sad incident occurred.”
Buraimoh’s close friend, James, in his tribute to the deceased, said, “He was working as a bouncer with a company called Oxygen before death snatched them. Sunday was the best friend anybody can have. He was very generous. Good people don’t
last.”
