A man identified as Hassan Azeez has been arrested by the Nigerian police for allegedly setting his wife ablaze in the Ibogun area of Ogun State.
It was learnt that the 46-year-old man poured petrol on his wife after a minor disagreement ensued between them.
Nigerians are having hard times from the biting fuel scarcity across the country, with prices per litre of petrol as high as N400 in parts of the country.
The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Abimbola Oyeyemi, who confirmed the incident in a statement on Friday said Azeez’s arrest followed a complaint lodged at Ibogun divisional headquarters by the victim’s father.
According to Abimbola, the victim, a mother of one was rushed to a hospital in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.
“Upon the report, the DPO Ibogun division, CSP Samuel Oladele quickly mobilised his men and moved to the scene. But before getting there, the suspect has escaped.
“After committing the act, the suspect claimed to have fled to the neighbouring Benin Republic and has been on the trail of police operatives.
“He was however arrested on January 22, three months after fleeing the country,” the statement read.
Upon interrogation, the police spokesman said the suspect confessed to the commission of the crime but blamed his action on the devil.
“According to him, he asked the victim to prepare food for him, but instead of the victim to prepare his food, she was busy washing clothes.
“He stated further that he got annoyed because he was hungry, and the annoyance made him to pour petrol on her and set her on fire. When asked whose clothes the woman was washing, he confessed that it was his clothes,” the statement added.
Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Police in the state, 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.
