Man sets woman, three children ablaze

A middle-aged man, Shola Adewumi, has been arrested for allegedly setting his estranged lover and her three children on fire at the Abule Egba area of Lagos State.

Police said the suspect was allegedly traced to his hideout through one of his phones, which was found at the scene of the crime.

The victims, Bose Enitan, (mother), Nifemi, aged five, Ayo, aged nine, and Esther, aged 17, sustained serious wounds as a result of the fire.

Unfortunately, Nifemi died in the fire while the three other victims sustained second degree burns.

It was learnt that the victims were sleeping when the suspect set the shanti house located along Power Line, Alagbado on fire. A neighbour, Anthony Ijase, said the incident occurred at about 2:00a.m.

According to him, Bose, a petty trader, had retired indoors along with her children at about 10:30p.m. on Tuesday.

“We were woken up by the cries of fire from some guards on duty. When I came out fire had engulfed the entire house, which was built with wood and corrugated iron sheets. It was easy for us to break into the one room apartment,” he said.

Another neighbour, James Afolabi, alleged that they discovered that it was the woman’s lover who actually set the house on fire.

He alleged that the suspect had vowed to set the lady and her children on fire over a minor quarrel.

“The suspect attempted to run away but was apprehend by some neighbours who handed him over to the police,” he said. 

Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Imohimi Edgal, who went on an on-the-spot assessment of the place, said the suspect is being detained at the Homicide Section of the State Criminal Intelligence and Investigation Department (SCIID), Panti for further investigation.

“Fortunately, the DPO and his team that came did a painstaking search and they were able to recover a phone, which was traced to its owner, Shola Adewunmi who previously had serious altercation with the woman.”