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Tag: ablaze

  • Woman who set mother ablaze begs for forgiveness

    Woman who set mother ablaze begs for forgiveness

    A 40-year-old woman, Abiodun Oluyade, who killed her mother by setting her ablaze after pouring petrol on her, has sought forgiveness.

    Oluyade told an Ondo Chief Magistrates’ Court that there was nobody to cater for her son and husband, whom she said were sick.

    She said it was the devil that pushed her to commit the crime on June 13, 2024 about 7am at No. 1, Okedoko Street, in Ondo town.

    Her 86-year-old mother, Olawanle Oluyade, who was badly burnt, died few days later while receiving treatment.

    A Pastor had reportedly told the suspect that her mother was behind her predicament and that she would only be freed upon her mother’s death.

    She sought to be forgiven when she was arraigned before the court but her plea was not taken.

    According to her, ”It was the handwork of the devil, although something told me to do it and I will be free. Please, forgive me, my son and my husband are sick. There’s nobody to take care of them.”

    Police prosecutor, Inspector Moremi Akao, informed the court that the offence contravened Sections 315 and punishable under Section 319 of the Criminal Code Cap 37 Volume 1 Laws of Ondo State of Nigeria, 2006.

  • Herdsmen set Ortom’s rice farm ablaze

    Over 20,000 hectares of rice farm belonging to Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom have been set ablaze by suspected herdsmen in Tse-Adorogo, Mbabeagh, Nzorov, Guma Local Government Area.

    In a telephone interview with The Nation, the governor said he had not harvested his rice farm, which is incorporated under Oracle Business Limited, before the suspected herdsmen set it ablaze.

    Orace Farms, which started when the governor was the Chairman of Guma Local Government Area, is into massive rice and soybeans cultivation.

    It was learnt that this was the fourth time Ortom’s farms had been attacked.

    When he was Minster of State in former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration, suspected herdsmen attacked his Oracle Farm on Naka Road at gunpoint and stole 30 cows.

    The herdsmen struck again in 2014 at his Tse- Adorogo, Mbabeagh country home and set his rice farm and house ablaze.

    When he became governor in 2015, herdsmen again set ablaze his rice farm in 2016 and 2017.

    The governor expressed concern that herdsmen again destroyed crops in the state.

    He reiterated his called for ranching of animals, saying there is no more land for anyone to feed their cattle in the name of grazing.

    “I said ranching is the international best practice for animal husbandry. But if anyone has an alternative method, let him bring it to the table,” he said.

    Ortom urged youths not to take the law into their hands but report to security agencies if any cattle encroached on farm lands in any part of the state.

    The governor told The Nation that he would officially visit the rice farm tomorrow to assess the damage done to it.

  • Jealous lover sets rival ablaze

    Competition for the attention of a woman has led a 45-year-old man, Baba Mohammed, to allegedly set his rival ablaze in Niger State for refusing to leave his lover.

    Mohammed, who is from Edo Baba village in Lavun Local Government Area, is in police custody for allegedly setting fire on Usman Tetengi, who he said made advances to the woman he wanted to marry.

    The suspect had reportedly warned the victim to stop seeing the woman he had proposed to marry, but the victim was said to have ignored his warning.

    Mohammed said he resorted to the action because his pleas proved abortive.

    He said: “I am not regretting my action because if I did not kill him at that particular time, he would have killed me. So, let him go. In his next world, he will not join issues with me again.

    “I am not married. I do not care where this case will get to. The most important thing was that I have closed his chapter and stopped him from troubling my life. There are other women in our community but he chose to make advances to the woman I proposed to marry. Now, he has paid dearly for it. It suits him well.”

    Police spokesman Muhammad Abubakar, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), said the suspect sent a boy, identified simply as Abdul, to buy three litres of fuel to set Tetengi ablaze.

    Abubakar said the victim was conveyed to the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) in Bida and later referred to Gwagwalada Hospital in Abuja, where he died.

    The spokesman said the matter would be charged to court after investigation.

     

  • Mob sets two trucks ablaze after one kills man, two children on way to school

    Mob sets two trucks ablaze after one kills man, two children on way to school

    The sleepy Oru town in Ijebu – North Local Government Area of Ogun State boiled on Friday morning as irate mob seized the Ijebu – Ibadan road and launched  attacks on all trucks carrying  sand or granite over the killing of road users by one of the trucks.

    The raging mob were reacting to the “reckless crushing to death” in the morning, of a man and his two children by one of the trucks carrying granite.

    The man and children were ridding on a motorcycle on their way to school when the accident occurred.

    The truck driver who was  trying to avoid a collision with another vehicle along the bustling Ijebu – Ode – Ibadan road, veered – off track and crushed the man and his children, a witness, told The Nation.

    The incident , it was learnt,  angered the people who quickly massed – up at the scene, and began to vent their anger on trucks and their drivers that  passed by at the time.

    The particular truck that killed father and children, was swiftly burnt along with two of its occupants,  while another truck passing by was also burnt.

    The truck is said to be on the fleet of the haulage trucks of a major cement manufacturing company in Ogun State based on the inscription and trade mark on its body.

    The Nation gathered that the accident triggered  pandemonium in Oru and the surrounding communities even as it also caused a huge traffic gridlock on Ijebu – Ode – Ibadan road, spilling into the adjoining ones, as fear – stricken motorists struggled to escape the troubled spot.

    A source in Oru said the Operatives of the Federal Road Safety Corps(FRSC), Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Corps (TRACE) the Nigeria Army, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps(NSCDC), Vigilante Service of Ogun State(VSO) and the police laboured to contain the chaos, clear traffic gridlock and evacuate the victims of the  truck – motorcycle accident.

  • Man in trouble for ‘setting lover’s home ablaze’

    A 27-year-old man, Ifeanyi Ede, has appeared at a Kubwa Grade I Area Court for allegedly setting his girlfriend’s house ablaze.

    Ede, who lives at Pipeline Kubwa village, Abuja, pleaded not guilty to a three-count charge of criminal trespass, causing mischief by fire and criminal intimidation.ý

    The prosecutor, Idowu Lawal, had told the court that ýEsther Yahaya of Kubwa, Abuja, reported the matter at Kubwa Police Station on February 5.

    He said the accused trespassed into the complainant’s home and set it on fire on the said date.

    Lawal said the complainant lost her valuables worth N94,000.ý

    He said the accused while in police custody, threatened the complainant.

    Lawal said the offence contravened sections 342, 337 and 397 of the Penal Code.

    After taking the accused’s plea, the Judge, Mohammed Marafa, granted him bail at N150,000 with one surety.

    He ordered that the surety must produce evidence of means of livelihood and identification.

    Marafa adjourned the matter till March 5 for hearing.

  • Father allegedly sets son ablaze

    The Niger State Child’s Right Agency has arrested a man, Musa Alhaji, for allegedly setting ablaze his 15-year-old son, Bello, in Bida, because he quarreled with his elder brother.

    The Nation learnt that the father returned from work and met Bello struggling to snatch his elder brother’s phone from him.

    The source said this angered the father, as he viewed it as disrespect. He allegedly fetched petrol, which he had in the house, poured it on Bello and set him ablaze with a lighter.

    Neighbours reportedly saved the victim from burning to death, although he had experienced degrees of burn.

    The source said vigilance group members apprehended the suspect and reported the case to the desk officers of the agency, who took Bello to the General Hospital, Bida and handed over the father to the police.

    The agency Director-General, Mariam Haruna Kolo, described the incident as extreme discipline, advising parents to note that there was a thin line between discipline and wickedness.

    She said the father would be evaluated for insanity, stressing that a sane father cannot commit such atrocity against his son.

    Kolo said the boy is responding to treatment.

    She said the case has been filed at a court, adding that the suspect is in police custody.

    Musa, 56, pleaded for leniency, saying he acted out of anger.

    He said he should be allowed to go home and cater for his family, as he was the breadwinner, adding that his 13 children would starve if he was not allowed to go home.

  • Mob sets ablaze suspected ritualist in Ughelli

    A member of a suspected gang of ritualists was set ablaze yesterday in Ughelli, the headquarters of Ughelli North council area of Delta State by a mob.

    The Nation gathered that the suspect and two other accomplices, whom he reportedly confessed had fled from the scene of his arrest, lured a sales girl, whose name was given as Efe Eric, out to a place where they intended to harm her.

    Reports of mysterious disappearances, brutal killing, raping  and mutilation of victims, mostly young female targets, have been prevalent around Ughelli in the past three weeks.

    The suspect, an indigene of Oroahakpor community in Ethiope East Council Area, confessed that he was working with two others.  “We are three in number, but the others have escaped by scaling the fence,” he said before he was eventually set ablaze.

    Narrating her ordeal when visited at the Ughelli Central Hospital, Efe, who was hit with a hammer by her assailants, said the man who attacked her came into her shop at Adagaharagba Street, pretending to want to buy goods.

    “The man came to our store that he wants to buy pears oil cream and I told him the price, from there he inquired of another thing I told him that the price is N1, 280, then he was pointing to pampers and I told him I don’t know the price.

    “He again said he wanted to buy Sunlight soap which was very close to him then I asked him if he wanted to buy in cartons because the half carton I gave to him was rejected while I was asking if he wanted to buy the carton, he brought a very big hammer and hit my forehead twice, I then scream which attracted people that rescued me,”she narrated.

    Sunday Anigboro, the man who challenged and ran after the suspected ritualist, said he was attracted by the shout of agony of the girl.

    He said: “The next thing we heard was the screaming of the girl that was attacked by the villain in her pool of blood; then I rushed to the place from where I was sitting to know what was happening, only to find out the sales girl has been hit with a hammer on her head by the suspect.

    “I confronted him and he became violent, threatening to cause more havoc if he is not let go. I followed him as he was escaping and caught up with him at Omotor Junction where he was set ablaze by angry mob before the arrival of security agents.”

    Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) Superintendent of Police (SP) Celestina Kalu said it was true that a suspect was lynched and burnt to death in Ughelli.

  • Tenant set Landlord ablaze in Edo 

    Tenant set Landlord ablaze in Edo 

    There was confusion on Uwa Street, in Oredo Local Government Area of Edo State, after a tenant, Jeff Obasohan, allegedly set his 83-year-old landlord, identified as Pa Joseph Iyen, ablaze.

    It was learnt that the incident occurred on Wednesday, at the deceased’s residence located between Second East Circular road and Third East Circular road in Benin, the state capital.

    It was gathered that there have been a protracted quarrel between the octogenarian and Obasohan over his unpaid rent‎.

    It was learnt that the late Pa Iyen had also given the suspect a quit notice on two occasions, when he (Obasohan) allegedly refused to pay.

    But the disagreement was said to have degenerated on Wednesday, leading to the tragedy.

    The elderly man was said to have died, following the severe burns he sustained from the ‎fire.

    The incident also drew the attention of residents in the area who thronged the scene ‎to sympathise with the victim’s family.

    The wife of the deceased, Mrs. Esther, alleged that the tenant had threatened her life and that of her late husband.

    She also said that the suspect had failed to pay his electricity bill.

    The widower said, “He does not pay his house rent; he does not pay the light bill. Since 2014, we said he should leave this house; I don’t want trouble.

    “He threatened to kill me or my husband. We took him to court. Then, my husband fell sick. Later, they said that the case ‎had been struck out.”

    The daughter of the late man, Faith Eganbor, alleged that the tenant had been officially asked to leave the building in 2014 and 2015.

    Eganbor, who described his father as a “kind” man, called for a thorough investigation on the matter and ensure justice for the aggrieved family members.

    “I need justice in my father’s matter. My father is a good man; he is kind to a fault. This is not the first time that this tenant has been asked to leave this house.

    “They gave him quit notice early this year; 2014, 2015. We came this morning to find out (that) our father is dead; burnt,” Eganbor said.

    ‎But the suspect could not be reached for comments, as he was said to have been arrested by security operatives from the Esigie Police Division.‎

    When contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Osifo Abiodun, told our correspondent on Thursday that the tenant ‎had a protracted disagreement with the late landlord over unpaid rent before allegedly setting ‎him ablaze.

    He also said that the case had been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department for further investigation.

    “That is true. Yes, he (suspect) is in custody. The suspect has made a statement; the case has been transferred to the state CID‎,” Abiodun said on telephone.

    However, it was learnt that the remains of the late man was later taken to a mortuary by some security operatives.

     

  • Three suspected robbers set ablaze in Kogi

    Three suspected armed robbers were on Friday set ablaze at Orunu junction in Ofu Local Government Area of Kogi State by some youths.

    The youths are suspected to come from the adjourning communities of the area where the suspected robbers met their Waterloo.

    An eyewitness said the robbers, numbering five, took over the road and began robbing commuters before the youths appeared on the scene.

    A source said that unknown to them, the villagers who were tired of incessant attacks on the road, which leads to Idah Local Government Area from Lokoja, the state capital, rushed out and descended on them.

    The villagers, said the source, refused to be intimidated by the armed bandits, who were said to be foreigners from a neighbouring African country. He said: “The villagers came out in their numbers and, in the process, seized their guns before crushing three of them to death with heavy stones, clubs and other dangerous weapons. Two of the armed robbers escaped into the bush while three were burnt to ashes after they were given the beating of their lives.”

    A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from Ejule community in the area was kidnapped September last year at the spot while returning from a campaign rally in Ugwolawo.

    The Kogi State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Williams Aya, who confirmed the incident, said the police discovered three dead bodies on the road. He said that no one was seen at the scene, but the police have commenced investigation into the matter.

  • Kogi: Three suspected armed robbers set ablaze

    Kogi: Three suspected armed robbers set ablaze

    Three suspected armed robbers were on Friday set ablaze at Orunu junction in Ofu Local Government Area of Kogi State by some youths.

    The youths are suspected to be from the adjourning communities’ ‎ where the suspected robbers met their Waterloo.

    An eyewitness said the robbers, numbering five had taken over the road and began robbing commuters when the youths suddenly appeared on the scene.

    A source said that unknown to them, the villagers who were tired of incessant attacks on the road which leads to Idah Local Government Area from Lokoja the state capital rushed out and descended on them.

    The villagers said the source refused to be intimidated by the armed bandits, who were said to be foreigners from a neighbouring ‎African country.

    According to him: “The villagers came out in their numbers and in the process seized their guns before crushing three of them to death with heavy stones, clubs and other dangerous weapons. Two of the armed robbers escaped into the bush while ‎three were burnt to ashes after they were given the beating of their lives”.

    The Kogi State Police Public Relation Officer (PPRO), Williams Aya who confirmed the incident said the police discovered three dead on the road.

    He said nobody was seen at the scene but that the police have commenced investigation into the matter.