The screams of three children, their mother and her lover, who were engulfed by fire on Sunday, August 16 woke up residents of Ajumose, Ogbein area of Ede in Osun State . It was gathered that the victims were set ablaze by a man, who allegedly felt scorned that his lover was also dating another man.
The five victims were said to be the suspect’s rival, Munirudeen Lawal; the lover, Hadijat Adegoke, and her three children.
Lawal and Adegoke were said to have been rushed to the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology Teaching Hospital, Osogbo, as a result of the burns they suffered.
Sources at the hospital told our correspondent on Thursday that Lawal died on Tuesday while Hadijat died on Wednesday.
Our correspondent gathered that Adegoke, 35, had recently moved to her own house, which had yet to be completed.
The woman, along with her four children ─ Fawas (13), Ishwat (12), Sodiq (8), and Fathia (6), were said to be the residents in the two-bedroomed apartment.
It was gathered that Adegoke had a bricklayer lover who assisted in erecting the structure, while other lovers also helped to erect the structure to its present state.
It was gathered that Adegoke abandoned her husband at a rented apartment and invited Lawal to pass the night at the new house.
Residents of the area said an unidentified man, who was also Adekoge’s lover, sneaked into the area.
One of the residents, who pleaded not to be named, said,
“The man discovered that they were having sex. He was visibly angry. Nobody paid him any notice because such drama was not a new thing here.”
PUNCH Metro, however, gathered that the unnamed scorned lover came back with a jerrycan of petrol, poured the content around the room Adegoke and Lawal were sleeping and set it ablaze before escaping from the area.
The fire which affected only the room, burnt the two lovers and three out of Adegoke’s four children.
The kids were said to have sustained serious burns, but Ishwat escaped unscarred because she had yet to sleep when the suspect set the house ablaze.
Residents of the area told our correspondent that they heard cries from the victims’ house and assisted in putting out the fire, and later took the victims to a hospital in the area.
The three kids were taken to Muslim Hospital, Ede. Their maternal grandma, Mrs. Folasade Gafar, who was seen sobbing in the hospital, had yet to be told of the death of her daughter when our correspondent visited the place on Wednesday.
The three children were seen writhing in pains, while the grandma and Ishwat were busy fanning them with hand fans.
The grandma said the hospital had not asked them to pay any bill, but had commenced treatment. She called on Nigerians to come to the aid of the kids.
Ishwat told our correspondent that she saw the man with a 50-litre jerrycan at 9pm on Sunday when she went outside the house to urinate.
She said that she did not know the man, but she had thought that he was urinating as well. She added that around 11pm, she smelled petrol, but before she could do anything, the fire had engulfed the room.
She said the man who slept inside the house on the fateful day was not her dad.
The Area Commander, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, Osun West, Mr. Femi Awofade, confirmed the incident.
He said an investigation was ongoing to uncover who perpetrated the act, saying the suspect, when arrested would be made to face the wrath of the law.
The Head, Public Relations and Protocol of the NSCDC, Mr. Wale Folarin, confirmed the death of Adegoke and Lawal to our correspondent on the telephone.
He said, “I can confirm to you that the woman and the man have died. They died at the LAUTECH Teaching Hospital.”
Punch
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