A Chartered Accountant identified as Benjamin has allegedly set his wife, Chinyere, who just returned from the United Kingdom (UK) and brother-in-law, Ifeanyi, ablaze in the Abule Ado area of Lagos State.
Speaking on the incident, Lagos Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), SP Benjamin Hundeyin said Benjamin set his wife and his brother-in-law ablaze over a minor issue.
According to eyewitnesses’ accounts, Chinyere and Ifeanyi were at a guest house in the couple’s residence when Benjamin set them on fire.
Those familiar with the incident said after perpetrating the crime, the suspect locked the duo in the guest house and went to call for help.
A source said, “His (the suspect’s) brother-in-law was a contract worker at Chevron. He was also the only son of the family. He didn’t die immediately; he made a dying declaration that Benjamin opened the door while he and his sister, Chinyere, who was Benjamin’s wife, were in the guest house, poured petrol on them, set them ablaze and locked them inside.
“Ifeanyi struggled to come outside, but the woman couldn’t. Benjamin ran outside and started shouting that fire was burning. There may be some underlying reasons for him to have done that. The house he stays in belonged to his wife and she wanted to sell it because she heard he wanted to sell the house without her consent.”
“There was also a case of jealousy because he said when his wife returned from Scotland, she kept talking to someone on the phone despite cautioning her against it, and the whole thing accumulated.
“The wife had relocated to Scotland with their children. Their children are still in Scotland; he has thrown the children into jeopardy with this incident,” he added.
Although the suspect denied igniting the fire, saying he also sustained burns from the inferno in their residence.
