A part of the property of the late founder of the Synagogue Church of All Nations, Prophet Temitope Joshua, was on Wednesday, gutted by fire, destroying the tomb shelter of the late preacher.
The incident, according to a resident source, happened at the late preacher’s property in the Agodo area of Ikotun, Lagos State.
The fire, which razed the tomb built within the property, started around 6:30 pm on Wednesday, a resident, who spoke anonymously confirmed to PUNCH.
He said, “The affected property is on Ajisebiri Street, Agodo. The house started burning around 6.30 pm and as I speak with you, fire service officials are trying to put out the fire.
“The compound of the house is big, so nobody can see what they are doing inside. Also, officials putting out the fire didn’t allow anybody inside.”
Confirming the development, the acting coordinator of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Ibrahim Farinloye, disclosed that the inferno has been put out.
NEMA said a part of the tomb shelter was affected by the fire, adding that the inferno started from a building, where the late pastor usually relaxes while alive.
He said: “The incident happened at a building belonging to the late pastor. The late pastor usually went there to relax and meditate. Federal fire service officials moved in to put out the fire.”
On her part, the Head of Lagos State Fire and Rescue Services, Margaret Adeseye, said the fire affected a part of the late pastor’s tomb shelter.
“It is confirmed that a section around the tomb of the late pastor TB Joshua caught fire. A shelter was built to cover the tomb because it is an open place, so, it was the shelter that caught fire.
“But we were able to curtail it and it did not spread beyond where it started from. We are yet to identify the cause of the fire”, she added.