A 12-month-old baby has been burnt to death in Calabar, Cross River State, during a fire incident in a thatched house.
The incident happened at Eta Agbor area of Calabar Municipality on October 9, according to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
The thatched house was completely burnt down when a NAN correspondent visited the scene.
Glory Etim-Akpan, the mother of the child, told NAN that her child was sick, and that she went out to a pharmacy in the area to buy medication and pampers for her before the incident.
The 19-year-old woman said she left the child, a baby girl, at home sleeping, while the candle light was burning.
“My baby was having a cough and catarrh, so I went out to buy drugs (medicine) for her and pampers. Before leaving the house, I lit a candle (and put it) on top of a metal plate in the room.
“I didn’t even get to the pharmacy when I received a call that our house was on fire. It was not up to 30 minutes that I left the house.
“Neighbours around heard my baby crying, but they couldn’t intervene. When I came back, we broke the door and I found out that my baby was already burnt to death.
“Also, I lost all my properties including my certificates. The fire burnt down my apartment completely,” she lamented.
Ms Etim-Akpan said her life has been shattered because she has nowhere to stay, no food to eat and no clothes to wear.
She appealed to well-meaning Nigerians to come to her aid through financial and material support.