A fire on Christmas Day (Thursday) claimed the life of David Oguntuase, a medical doctor and the Chief Medical Director (CMD) of Universal Medical Clinic in Akure, the Ondo State capital.
The fire, which happened at Oke Ibukun Street, off Araromi quarters in the capital city, had sent residents of the street into pandemonium. Nearby residents told SaharaReporters that the fire began around 12:30 a.m. when Dr. Oguntuase was apparently asleep at his medical facility, a specialist clinic for children. Our correspondent said he was unable to reach a fire official to speak about the cause of the fire.
The late doctor owned the two-room apartment where the clinic was located.
The latest tragic incident came barely two weeks after a gas explosion in Akure led to the destruction of shops and other properties worth billions of naira.
The deceased doctor worked as a consultant pediatrician at the Federal Medical Center (FMC) in Owo where he had earlier served as a Chief Medical Director (CMD) before establishing his own private clinic in Akure.
A nurse at the clinic described her last interaction with the doctor a day before Christmas. “The doctor told us to go home for the Christmas holiday, but said he would stay behind in the hospital to finish some assignments. He even gave some of us transport fare back home and cracked jokes with us.
“Before wishing us goodbye and merry Christmas, he told us to lock all the windows and ensure we turned off every electric appliance in the clinic, which we did. So, nobody could ascertain the cause of the fire. This is strange and very pathetic,” she said.
Several residents disclosed that all efforts to safe the doctor were unsuccessful, adding that his body was burnt beyond recognition. They said officers of the Fire Brigade Service were contacted, but that the fire fighters claimed there was no fuel in their vehicle to put out the fire.
A correspondent of SaharaReporters contacted the fire fighting office along Alagbaka Road, but found no officer in the building. Calls put to their emergency lines were not picked.
Several distraught residents said it was now routine for fire fighters to either claim they have no functioning vehicle or no fuel to fight fires.
A spokesman of the Nigeria Police in Ondo State, Wole Ogodo, confirmed the incident. He added that an investigation had begun to unravel the cause of the incidence. Mr. Ogodo also revealed that the corpse of the medical doctor had been deposited at the State Specialist Hospital in Akure