The Ondo State Police Command has commenced an investigation into a case of a 75-year-old grandmother accused of setting her son, his wife, and their two children ablaze.
The incident was said to have occurred in the Aponmu community in Akure South Local Government Area of Ondo State, on Sunday morning while the victims were still asleep.
Three of the victims were said to have died as a result of the incident.
A source in the community told reporters that when questioned why she set the victims on fire, the grandma reportedly attributed her action to the fact that the victims were allegedly starving her.
“When asked why she did what she did, she said her son and her wife were starving her,” the source said.
Also speaking, a neighbour of the victims, Korede Michael, told journalists on Tuesday that he saw the victims’ house on fire around 2am on the day the incident happened and had to break the window to rescue them.
Michael said, “The woman; her son, Victor Oloro; wife, Rachael; and children, Toluwani and Blessed, were all in the house when she set it on fire. She got some dry palm fronds and a little petrol her son kept in a gallon, spread it around the house and then set it on fire.
“I was the first person to notice the fire and jumped into the house before other members of the community joined me in rescuing them. We got a vehicle immediately to transport them to the government hospital in Akure.
“When we got to Akure, the doctors rejected the patients, saying they cannot take care of them due to the degree of the burn and advised that we should take them to the Federal Medical Centre in Owo.
“Unfortunately, the last grandchild, who was just two-and-a-half-year-old, died immediately after we got to Owo. On Sunday, the son and his wife gave up the ghost while the only grandchild left is in a critical condition.”
Michael added that the suspect had been behaving strangely in the recent time as she attempted to commit suicide sometime in 2022 by jumping into a well but was rescued by neighbours.
“The children could not send the woman out of the house when she started behaving strangely because the house was built by her late husband,” he added.
While reacting to the incident, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Mrs Funmilayo Odunlami, confirmed the incident.
“The case has been transferred to the State Criminal Investigative Department of the command,” she said.
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