As Nigerians find it hard to get fuel, hoarding of fuel has led to the death of an illegal petrol marketer and his wife in Jos.
The couple was killed on Thursday when fire broke out from the kitchen where Mr Gideon Pam hoarded petrol at their residence in Zawan community of Jos South Local Government Area of Plateau.
An eye witness Miss Shantel Alphonsus, speaking to journalist said “Pam runs an illegal petrol business at Zawan Junction.
“In the morning, he was called upon to get more supply from a fuel station, so he rushed back home to get some empty gallons to hoard scarce petrol.
“In a bid to empty some of the gallons that had fuel in them, suddenly there was fire outburst in the kitchen were the gallons were kept and Pam was trapped.
“His wife, Mercy, who had gone out earlier returned and saw smoke emitting from the house.
“She went into the house to save her husband, but was equally trapped in the inferno,’’ Alphonsus said.
She added that the couple left a four-month-old baby who had earlier been taken away by Pam’s mother at an earlier visit.
Confirming this incident Mr Caleb Polit, Director, Plateau Fire Service, said that the couple was burnt beyond recognition and the house razed before firemen could reach the scene.
