Seven-month-old infant roasted in Lagos New Year tragedy

Tragedy struck on New Year’s Day in the Ijanikin area of Lagos State after a seven-month-old baby, Raphael Olawale, was roasted to death.
The incident happened on Morounkola Street, around 3am.
PUNCH Metro learnt that the child’s mother was cooking in the room and left it to attend to something else when there was an explosion, which started the fire.
Neighbours were said to have raised the alarm, as residents made frantic efforts to put out the fire, by which time it was already late.
The whole building was said to have been engulfed in smoke and razed down before firefighters from the Lagos State Fire Service arrived at the scene.
Our correspondent was told that firemen from the Badagry fire station responded with 10,000 litres of water.
The Director of the Lagos State Fire Service, Rasak Fadipe, confirmed the incident.
He said, “The incident happened around 3am. The boy’s father had gone to church for the watch-night service, while his mother was cooking inside the living room. She forgot what she was doing in the living room and went outside for something else. There was an explosion, which was noticed by neighbours.