Chukwuma Adiruba, whose three children died in a Valentine’s eve fire, has dismissed rumours that his wife abandoned the children to keep an adulterous date with another man.
The Adirubas who live in Ubahu Okija in Ihiala Local Government Area of Anambra State, said social media was awash with reports of how his wife allegedly left her children at home for Valentine fun with her lover, only to return the following morning to see her three kids, one of whom two months old, dead.
Adiruba described the report as false and unfounded, saying his wife did not leave his children to share a bed with another man on the day of the incident.
Adiruba said he wondered where the rumour originated from, adding that he never had any reason to suspect that his wife was unfaithful.
Narrating the ugly experience, Adiruba said his wife was at home while he was away for a function when the incident took place.
He said, “I came back from Enugu State where I performed as a musician around 11pm, and left again to perform at a prayer ministry close to my house. Actually, my wife had requested I should not go out again, but I insisted.
“It was not up to three hours later that I was called on the phone that my house was on fire. But by the time I got home, I discovered that all my children and belongings were already burnt.”
He said he saw his wife rolling on the floor half-naked with burns on her face, arms and legs.
“As I attempted to cover and lift her up, she became unconscious. I had to rush her to a nearby hospital.”
Adiruba sobbed as he spoke.
Adiruba’s wife, Ogochukwu, said the fire was caused by the candle she lit that night to enable her children sleep.
She said, “I first collected my husband’s phone to light up the house after the battery of my phone went off. But that of my husband also went off at midnight.
“I didn’t have any other option than to light the remaining candle in the house as my children find it difficult to stay without light.
“I was in a deep sleep when the candle caught fire and spread to the whole house.”
The couple whose children have been buried, called on government and public-spirited individuals to come to their rescue, saying their major challenge was clothing and shelter.
“Our major problem is where to lay our heads and cover our nakedness. We are now struggling to eat,” they lamented.
Source: thenationonlineng.net
