The Digest:
An entire family of five perished in an early morning house fire in Katsina, with residents pointing to a suspected voltage surge from the unstable power supply as the likely cause, highlighting the deadly intersection of failing infrastructure and everyday life.
Key Points:
- The fire occurred in the Kofar Sauri community of Katsina metropolis in the early hours of Monday, December 1.
- The victims were 35-year-old Muhammad Habibu, his wife Fatima Muhammad, and their three children: Khadija, Abubakar, and Aliyu.
- The inferno is suspected to have been triggered by a voltage surge when electricity was restored after an outage, a common complaint in the area.
- Relatives reported hearing a voice reciting Islamic prayers for the dead around 3:00 a.m. before discovering the tragedy.
- Neighbors and eyewitnesses lamented the state fire service's late arrival and limited impact, though officials disputed this.
- The Katsina State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) visited the scene and promised relief materials to the family.
- Residents cited this as part of a pattern, referencing similar incidents in other parts of the city due to persistent power fluctuations.
Sources: Daily Trust, The Nation, Vanguard
