Tunde Bakare’s house burnt!

• Pastor Tunde Bakare

• Another bomb blast rocks Kaduna 
By CHIOMA IGBOKWE

Barely one week after the presidential election, tragedy struck the household of vice presidential candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Pastor Tunde Bakare, when his Lagos home was gutted by fire yesterday. No life was lost.

Saturday Sun gathered that the fire, which affected a section of the building, on Abiodun Olaiya Street, off Adefowope, Awuse Estate, Opebi, Lagos and caused substantial damage. It started at about 4pm. 


Family members could not say exactly where the fire started or its cause, but revealed they suddenly discovered thick smoke. According to them, before help could come, the fire spread and affected at least three rooms in the building.


Sources revealed that as soon as the fire was noticed, the fire service was alerted, but before fire-fighter arrived, great damage had been done.


When Saturday Sun visited the area last night, two fire buses were leaving the scene after putting put out the fire.


Attempts to gain entry into the compound proved abortive, as policemen and other aides of the pastor of Latter-Rain Assembly stopped visitors. They only allowed people they could identify into the compound.
Speaking to Saturday Sun yesterday, on phone, from Abuja, spokesman of the presidential candidate of CPC and former head of state, General Muhammadu Buhari, Mr. Yinka Odumakin, said that the cause of the fire had not been ascertained.


Also commenting on the accident, police public relations officer, Lagos State Police command, Mr. Jinadu, said the cause of the fire was not yet known. He confirmed that policemen had been drafted to the place to ensure security.


Last night, friends and associates of Bakare trooped in to identify with him. Most of them, who came with police orderlies and other security personnel were allowed in. It could not be ascertained if Bakare was in last night, but a young man, who came out of the compound, told Saturday Sun that the pastor-turned politician would make a statement on the fire later. At the time of going to the press, the pastor had not spoken.


In a related development, a bomb last night exploded in a private house in Rafin Guza, Kaduna, near the quarters of the state’s legislators. Three people were feared killed in the explosion, with many others injured. This is coming one week after a bomb exploded in a hotel in the city.


It was gathered that the bomb went off at about 7pm. At the time of going to press, our reporter could not ascertain the owner of the building owing to curfew, which was imposed on the city following the violence that rocked Kaduna after the release of the presidential election results.


The police, however, told Saturday Sun that a team of the bomb disposal unit was dispatched to the area immediately news of the explosion was received.