A
middle-aged man at the weekend reportedly set himself ablaze over an allegation
of his wife’s infidelity at Owharen Street, Ovwian in Udu Local Council of
Delta State.
The
incident, which occurred on Friday inside the victim’s apartment, according to
sources, led to anxiety among residents as the inferno spread to other
apartments, destroying property worth millions of naira in the process.
A resident
of the area noted that the victim had in the past weeks threatened to kill
himself after his wife was reportedly caught pants down with one of his male
messengers in the area.
The source
said: “On Friday when the man returned home, he locked himself, poured fuel on
his body and thereafter light himself. He was burnt beyond recognition before
help could come.
“Some few
weeks ago, his wife, Blessing was caught pants down by their neighbours with a
young boy who washes the Keke NAPEP of the man. The boy is one of the boys whom
he usually sent on an errand in the area.
“Though the
wife has since left his apartment, the man returned home that day, poured fuel
on his body, barricaded himself inside his apartment with an iron bar and set
himself ablaze”, the source told newsmen.
Another
resident of the area said their action was drawn to the incident when a thick
smoke was seen emanating from the apartment, which was fast spreading to other
neighbouring apartments whose residents were already asleep.
Owner of the
building, Mr. Nyonren Egharan, while lamenting the incident said: “When the
fire broke out, I ran to where the fire started from, broke into the apartment
and tried to rescue the victim who held on to a chair and insisted that he
wanted to end his life.
“His action
during the inferno that claimed his life fuels the suspicion that he may have
set the house on fire by himself to reinforce the suicide argument. I sustained
serious burnt from the raging fire while trying to rescue the victim.”
The landlord
who claimed that all his life savings were consumed in the inferno appealed to
the Delta State Government and Udu Local Council to come to his rescue to
enable him start life again.
A source at
the Ovwian-Aladja Police Station also confirmed the incident, adding that the
victim had been evacuated to a nearby morgue.
0 Comments