She listed the victims as her one-year-and-three-month-old daughter, her mother, sister, and father, who had only stopped by his wife’s shop minutes before the tragic incident.
A Lagos fashion designer, Nofisat Jamiu, has recounted how a cooking gas explosion killed four family members at her mother’s retail shop in Apapa. The victims included her 15-month-old daughter, parents, and sister, who were present when an old, faulty cylinder ruptured. Jamiu described the incident as leaving her in “perpetual grief,” revealing her mother had only worked at the shop for six months to support the family after her father’s stroke.
“My mother started selling gas about six months ago. It wasn’t even her business,” Jamiu told PUNCH Healthwise, explaining her mother took the job after financial struggles. The explosion occurred when a rusted 50kg cylinder split open. Her surviving brother reported the family was inside the shop—her father visiting, sister resting, and toddler playing—when the blast happened without warning.
The tragedy highlights lax safety standards in Nigeria’s gas retail sector, where substandard equipment often endangers lives. Jamiu’s mother had transitioned from laundry work to the hazardous job to support the family. Authorities have yet to comment on enforcement of cylinder safety regulations, leaving many informal vendors at risk of similar preventable disasters.
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