The police in Anambra have arrested a middle-aged woman, for allegedly setting a female police officer and her two children ablaze, in Nnokwa, Idemili South Council Area of Anambra State.
The suspect, identified as Nneamaka Nwosu, who hails from Amawbia, Awka South Local Council of the state, came in contact with the deceased after she was rendered homeless, following separation from her husband.
The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Tochukwu Ikenga, who confirmed the incident and arrest of the suspect, said the remains of the victims have been deposited in the mortuary.
Ikenga said that the case had been transferred to the State Investigation Department (SCID) for further investigation and prosecution.
He said: “Preliminary information reveals that the police woman accommodated the suspect while she was searching for a house. The two women had a disagreement, which resulted in a fight before the suspect hit the officer on her head with a pestle.
“While she became unconscious, she tied her with her two kids and set them ablaze. The bodies of the victims have been recovered and deposited in the morgue. Further development shall be communicated.”
Also commenting on the incident, a resident in the area, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the suspect had gone to live with the deceased shortly after she became homeless and in dire need of accommodation.
According to him, “On that fateful day, she had a disagreement with the policewoman, which led to a fight, during which she hit the officer on the head with a pestle and she fell and became unconscious.
“She quickly tied the policewoman and her children together with rope inside their room and set them ablaze together with the building.”
He added that the suspect was apprehended by local vigilante and villagers, who were attracted by the fire, while she was trying to escape.
He said during interrogation, the suspect was said to have initially denied the act, claiming it was a case of gas explosion, while the deceased and her children were boiling water.
However, she later confessed to the crime, attributing it to the handiwork of the devil.
“I didn’t know what came over me that made me commit the crime. I deserve to be shot dead for this wicked act against the person who helped me in my time of need,” the suspect was quoted as saying.
