By Christopher Oji
A 43-year-old man, Yusuf Hassan, has been arrested for allegedly attempting to set his ex-lover ablaze for quitting their relationship.
Hassan, who is currently being interrogated by the Ogun State Police Command, allegedly confessed that he set his girlfriend’s apartment ablaze with the intention of killing her for calling their relationship quits.
According to Ogun State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), SP Abimbola Oyeyemi, the man was arrested on April 4, 2023, for setting the apartment of his ex-lover, Busayo Falola, ablaze, thereby burning down the whole building.
“The suspect was arrested, following a report lodged at Ago Iwoye Divisional Headquarters, by the 62-year-old landlady of the house, Adejoke Salau, who reported that she heard a noise from one of the buildings within her compound situated at No 127, Old Schorlar Palace, Igan Road, Ago Iwoye, at about 1:15 am. And when she came out, she discovered that the building was on fire while the tenants in the house were trapped.
She stated that it was the quick intervention of neighbours that rescued the three tenants, but the house was burnt down completely.
Upon the report, the DPO Ago Iwoye, CSP Noah Adekanye, led his men to the scene and the occupants of the house were invited to the station for interrogation in order to know the possible cause of the inferno.
“On interrogation, one of the tenants, Falola Busayo, informed the police that she saw her ex-lover, Yusuf Hassan, at the back of her window at about 12:30am on the fateful day.
“She explained further that she was scared to see him at that ungodly hour, and that made her to scream and run into another tenant’s room.
“This made other tenants to storm out to check what Yusuf was up to; they discovered flames coming out from Busayo’s room.
“Upon the information, Yusuf Hassan, was hunted for and was subsequently apprehended.
“He initially denied knowing anything about the incident, but later confessed setting the house ablaze.
“He confessed further that he intended to burn his ex-lover in her own apartment because he had tried his best to reconcile with her to no avail, and that was the reason he bought N500 worth of petrol, poured it into her room through the window and set the apartment on fire.”
He said the suspect would soon be transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), for further investigation and possible prosecution.