Men of the fire service responded promptly to the distress call.
Barely 20 minutes after Olusegun Obasanjo, Nigeria’s former President left his Abeokuta Hilltop Mansion residence on Thursday, fire engulfed the building.
The house located in Abeokuta, the Ogun State Capital, was gutted by
fire on Thursday with extensive damages recorded in the 30-minute
incident
The fire, which started at about 4.25 p.m., was traced to electricity
power surge, just barely about 20 minutes after Mr. Obasanjo left for
his other house located in the Ita-Eko area of the town.
PREMIUM TIMES gathered that the fire started from Mr. Obasanjo’s
private office, a stone throw to his bedroom, before the security in the
premises raised alarm, and the state fire service was contacted.
The fire service, in a swift response, raced to the scene with two
fire fighting vehicles, to curtail the fire, which would have spread to
other apartments. However, a number of valuables were consumed by the
fire.
No life was lost, but some damaged property were seen being moved out
by men of the fire service and officers of the National Security and
Civil Defence Corps(NSCDC).
As at the time of this report, Mr. Obasanjo had returned home,
apparently to see the extent of the damage. His wife, Bola Obasanjo, was
seen outside in company of some grandchildren looking worried.
On his part, Mr. Obasanjo, after the fire had been put under control,
was seen sitting within the premises receiving telephone calls from
sympathizers.
However, one of his sons, identified as Oba Obasanjo, threw caution
to the wind, as he seized the Blackberry phone of PREMIUM TIMES
correspondent and smashed it on the floor for taking photographs.
Symphatisers that thronged the home of the former President include
the Ogun State Commissioner of Police, Ikemefuna Okoye; a factional
chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the state, Dipo
Odujinrin; and the state’s Director of State Security Services.
Ironically, an hour after the fire incident was brought under control, the officials of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria, PHCN, arrived in two pick-up vans loaded with ladders.
The former President is expected to address journalists on the cause of the fire.
Located along the Ibrahim Babangida Boulevard in Abeokuta, the
multi-millionaire villa, made up of about six structures, was completed
shortly before Mr. Obasanjo left office in 2007. It was constructed by
Messrs Gitto Construzioni Generali Nigeria Limited, an Abuja-based
Italian company.
It was built atop a hill, some critics said, to give the former president the psychological feeling of being on top of everyone.
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