Early morning fire wipes out family of five

A predawn fire on Monday claimed the lives of a couple and their three children in the Kofar Sauri area of Katsina metropolis, leaving the community in shock and raising renewed concerns about electrical safety and power fluctuations in the state.

The victims were identified as 35-year-old Muhammad Habibu, his wife Fatima Muhammad, and their children Khadija, Abubakar, and Aliyu. All five were trapped inside their home as the fire spread through the building.

Residents said the incident occurred shortly after electricity was restored to the neighbourhood. Although the official cause has not been established, several neighbours suspected the fire was triggered by a voltage surge. The blaze was reported to have started in the living room before moving rapidly to other parts of the house.

A relative, Kasim Aliyu, said he sensed something unusual around 3:00 a.m. but did not immediately realise the extent of the danger. He later received a call informing him that his younger brother and the entire household had been lost in the fire.

Neighbours attempted to put out the flames before firefighters arrived but were unable to contain the spread. Some residents complained that the fire service response was slow, though the Chief Fire Officer of the Katsina State Fire Service, Rabe Audi Kurmuyal, maintained that his team reached the scene in time and extinguished the fire.

The incident has renewed criticism of recurring power fluctuations attributed to failing equipment and unstable supply. Residents referenced similar fire outbreaks linked to high-voltage returns in other parts of Katsina city.

The Executive Secretary of the Katsina State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Binta Hussaini Dangani, visited the scene shortly after the incident. She urged households to adopt basic electrical safety measures and confirmed that an assessment of the damage had begun to facilitate government support.

KEDCO’s Katsina Regional Manager, Aminu Bukari, said it was unlikely for a voltage surge to affect only one house in a community of thousands, indicating that further investigation is necessary.