Fire guts Amosun’s house, journalists assaulted
MARCH 14, 2013
Ogun State Governor, Ibikunle Amosun
Apart of the private residence of Governor Ibikunle Amosun in Abeokuta, Ogun State capital, was on Wednesday gutted by an afternoon fire that destroyed several documents.
The house, popularly referred to as White House and located in Ibara GRA, Abeokuta went up in flames at about 12.30pm.
Our correspondent learnt that the fire started from one of the rooms but the extent of damage could not be ascertained.
Security operatives manning the gates to the bungalow, however, prevented journalists from covering the incident.
They attacked the journalists at the scene, seizing cameras and blackberry phones from the the hordes of reporters and cameramen who besieged the scene to capture the incident.
The security operatives threatened to shoot the reporters.
A camera belonging to the Nigerian Television Authority was seized, damaged and the tape removed. Another camera belonging to a reporter with the News Agency of Nigeria, Tomisin Erogbogbo, was seized.
By the time it was returned to her, all the pictures previously contained in it, including those of the fire incident, had been deleted.
Also, a blackberry phone belonging to a correspondent of the Businessday, Razaq Ayinla, was seized and all the pictures deleted.
Addressing journalists at the scene while the fire was being brought under control, the governor’s elder brother, Alhaji Abidoye Amosun, said the occupants quickly alerted the men of the fire service immediately they noticed the smoke.
He said, “We noticed flame from one of the rooms and we quickly called the attention of the fire fighters who promptly arrived and put it under control.”
On the extent of damage done by the fire outbreak, Amosun said there was nothing to worry about as only “few documents were burnt during the incident.”
When contacted for his comment on the fire incident, the state Director of Fire Service, Mr. Ganiyu Abidoye declined.
Pressed further by our correspondent, Abidoye said, “Can’t you go there and see things by yourself? You are supposed to go there. Go there and see things by yourself. You can’t ask me anything, go there. When you get there, you’ll see how the situation is.”
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