Mother, newborn in narrow escape as fire razes Ilorin buildings

Punch Nigeria · Toheeb Omotayo · 2026-10-30 23:19 UTC

A mother and her newborn baby narrowly escaped after a fire, which started from a freezer, razed three buildings in the Oloje area of Ilorin, Kwara State.

In Ilorin, Kwara State, many residents retired to bed on Monday, October 26, hoping for a peaceful night. But in the Oloje Phase II axis of the city, disaster was quietly brewing.

At about 2 am, while the neighbourhood was buried in the silence of the night, a mother of two, Aisha Suleiman, was jolted awake by an unusual sound coming from beneath her freezer.

It was not the familiar noise of an appliance working. In the darkness, with electricity supply unavailable and virtually everyone in the neighbourhood asleep, the mother of two struggled to understand what was happening.

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