Yusuf Hassan, 43, of Ogun State, has admitted to setting his ex-flat lover’s on fire in order to kill her by burning her alive.
Busayo Falola, the ex-lover, allegedly rejected any attempts at reconciliation, telling Hassan that he thought setting her room on fire would be the appropriate course of action.
Abimbola Oyeyemi, the police spokesman for Ogun State, said that Hassan was apprehended on April 4 after he completely destroyed the structure.
According to Oyeyemi, the 62-year-old Adejoke Salau, the owner of the impacted property, filed a report at the Ago Iwoye divisional police headquarters that resulted in the arrest of the suspect.
The woman told the police that at around 1:15 am, she noticed a commotion coming from one of her buildings in her property at 127, Old Schorlar Palace, Igan Road, Ago Iwoye. When she went outside, she saw that the structure was on fire and that the occupants were trapped inside.
According to the woman, who was also reported by Oyeyemi, the rapid action of the neighbours helped save the three residents from the burning building.
After the report, CSP Noah Adekanye, the DPO of Ago Iwoye, allegedly took his men to the spot and brought the residents of the home to the station for questioning in order to determine the likely cause of the inferno.
At the time of the incident, around 12:30 am, Busayo told the police she spotted her ex-boyfriend Hassan at the rear of her window.
She told another renter that she shouted and fled from her room because she was terrified to meet Hassan at such a ‘ungodly hour’.
Several residents allegedly walked outside to investigate the man’s activities but instead saw flames rising from Busayo’s room.
Hassan was detained after acting on the information, despite his denials that he was aware of the occurrence.
He “opened up and acknowledged being the guy who lit the house ablaze” after the DPO ordered investigators to go to his residence and determine whether or not he was there at the time of the event, according to Oyeyemi.
The man “admitted further that he meant to burn his ex-lover in her own flat because he had done his hardest to reconcile with her but to no effect,” according to the police spokeswoman.
He claimed to have bought N500 worth of fuel, poured it through Busayo’s window into his room, and then lit it ablaze.
The suspect has been sent to the State CIID for further investigation and potential prosecution, according to the Ogun Commissioner of Police.
