Etim Ekpimah
The Ogun State Police Command has arrested a 46-year-old man, Hassan Azeez for pouring petrol on his wife and setting her ablaze.
The suspect was arrested following a report lodged at Ibogun divisional headquarters by the victim’s father, who reported on the 22nd of October 2022, that her daughter, Olayinka Hassan was set ablaze by her husband over a minor disagreement.
The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, SP Abimbola Oyeyemi, added that the victim, a mother of one, was rushed to a hospital in Ibadan.
He said: “Upon the report, the DPO Ibogun division, CSP Samuel Oladele quickly mobilized his men and moved to the scene. But before getting there, the suspect has escaped.
“Since then, the police operatives have been on his trail until the 22nd of January when he was eventually apprehended.
“On interrogation, the suspect who claimed to have run away to the Benin Republic confessed to the commission of the crime but blamed it on the devil.”
According to Oyeyemi, the man asked the victim to prepare food for him, but instead of the victim preparing his food, she was busy washing clothes.
He said: “He stated further that he got annoyed because he was hungry and the annoyance made him pour petrol on her and set her on fire.
“When asked whose clothes the woman was washing, he confessed that they were his clothes.”
Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Police, CP Lanre Bankole, has directed that the suspect be transferred to the Homicide section of the state Criminal Investigation Department for further investigation and possible prosecution.