A middle-aged Nigerian woman has been arrested for allegedly setting a policewoman and her two children ablaze on Sunday in Nnokwa, Idemili South Local Government Area (LGA) of Anambra State, Nigeria.
The suspect, who hailed from Amawbia was said to have been divorced by her husband and shortly after became homeless and in dire need of accommodation, before she confided in the policewoman who offered her accommodation in her apartment.
According to a source in the area who preferred to be anonymous, trouble started when the suspect had an altercation with the policewoman, resulting in the fight and her subsequently hitting the policewoman with a pestle till she fell and became unconscious.
The source said: “After that, the suspect tied the policewoman and her children together with rope, right inside their room, set them ablaze, together with the building; and they (the policewoman and her children) all got burnt.
“The suspect was first apprehended by operatives of the local vigilante and some of the villagers who were attracted by the fire, and who eventually captured her as she was trying to escape the vicinity.”
The suspect, who initially claimed that it was a gas cylinder that exploded when the woman and her children were boiling hot water, later confessed to the crime and explained how she carried out the heinous act.
The Anambra State Police spokesman (PPRO), DSP Tochukwu Ikenga, confirmed the incident. Ikenga added that the suspect has been arrested and the case transferred to State Criminal Investigation Department in Awka for further investigations.
He said the corpses of the policewoman and her children have been deposited at the mortuary.
Ikenga, who also gave a brief narration of how the incident happened, further revealed that the case had been transferred to the State Investigation Department for further investigation and prosecution.
“Preliminary information revealed that the policewoman accommodated the suspect while she was searching for a house. The two women had a disagreement which resulted in a fight before the suspect hit the woman police on her head with a pestle.
“While she became unconscious she tied her with her two kids and set them ablaze. The bodies of the victims have been recovered and deposited in the morgue. Further development shall be communicated,” Ikenga added.