Devil’s Incarnate : Man Sets His Family On Fire In Ogun Over Property, Kills Wife & Daughter

A 43-year-old teacher, Gbemisola Edward, and her
11-year-old daughter, Dolapo, have been
confirmed dead at an Ogun State hospital after
suffering from severe burns.
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The woman’s husband, Joshua, was said to have
poured petrol on her, their daughter, and his
seven-year-old son, Samson, and set fire on them.
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PUNCH Metro learnt the incident happened on
Thursday on Augustine Street, Ire Akari Estate, in
the Ifo Local Government Area, Ogun State, after a
disagreement between the couple.
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Gbemisola’s son, Joshua Babatunde, 16, who
escaped by a whisker, said his stepfather had
wanted his mother to sell their three-bedroomed
apartment, but she refused.
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He said, “It was the scream of my mother that
woke me up. Dolapo and Samson were also set
ablaze. I wanted to put out the fire when my
stepfather poured petrol on me as well. Before he
returned with matches, I managed to escape and
reported at the Ifo Police Station.
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“He was working with a factory but was sacked
some months ago. He then told my mother to sell
the house so that he could use the money to start
a business. But my mother said she would never
sell the house she struggled to build.
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“We moved into the house in January. The
following month, he and Samson started living
with us. It was a woman at our former residence
in Iyana Ipaja (Lagos State) that bore Samson for
him.
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He used to beat mum while we were in Iyana
Ipaja.”
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PUNCH Metro gathered that Joshua fled
immediately the incident happened, while the
victims were admitted to Aron Hospital, a private
facility in the area.
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Dolapo was said to have died a few minutes after
she got to the hospital while the mother died on
Friday.
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Samson, who has burns in the head, hands and
legs, is still responding to treatment.
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Gbemisola’s brother, Wale, said she had always
been abused by the husband, adding that constant
beatings forced her to relocate from Iyana Ipaja to
Ifo.
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He said, “Their relationship had been fraught with
quarrels since when he was living with my sister
in our house at Iyana Ipaja. There was a time he
threatened to kill her with a machete. He stole her
money and fled.
.
“When he knew my sister had built a house, he
went there to reconcile with her. She insisted that
they needed to go to the registry which they did in
February. I visited my sister two weeks ago. She
said her husband had been threatening her again
and that she had told him to leave by the end of
August.
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“It was on Thursday afternoon that I got a call that
he set her and the children ablaze.”
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The Managing Director, Aron Hospital, Dr. Kayode
Ayoola, said, “The burns were serious. The girl
died about 10 minutes after she was admitted,
while her mother died the following day. The boy’s
condition is relatively okay but nobody is ready to
take care of him.”
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The Ogun State Police Command’s acting
spokesperson, ASP Abimbola Oyeyemi, said the
command had launched a manhunt for the killer
husband.
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He said, “We learnt the man and his wife had a
quarrel over the ownership of the house they lived
in. While the family was asleep, the man poured
patrol on the living room and set it ablaze. As a
result, the woman and the two children suffered
first degree burns.
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The Commissioner of Police
has ordered that the suspect be fished out. He can
only run, he cannot hide.”
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Via The Punch