Uche Nnorom, Makurdi
Tragedy struck Ukum Local Government Area of Benue State after two teenage girls were burnt to death when a woman allegedly set their father’s house ablaze over a suspected love affair.
The Benue State Police Command on Tuesday confirmed the incident, saying one suspect had been arrested and an investigation had commenced.
The Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Udeme Edet, told journalists in Makurdi that the command could not immediately establish whether the incident was linked to a lovers’ quarrel.
She said, “I don’t really know if it was a lovers’ quarrel that resulted in the act, but the report we got from the father of the girls was that a person set his house on fire.
“He said neighbours tried to rescue the girls and rushed them to the hospital. Tragically, they died while receiving treatment. So I can’t say whether it was a lovers’ quarrel.”
Edet added that the suspect had been taken into custody while detectives were investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident.
However, residents, who spoke on condition of anonymity, alleged that the suspect, identified simply as Mbayegh, attacked the house after accusing her lover, Aondoyima Ierkwagh, of abandoning her for another woman.
According to the sources, the woman visited Ierkwagh on Monday night but was asked to leave. She allegedly became convinced that another woman had been brought into the house.
The sources said Ierkwagh later locked his two daughters in a hut before spending the night with another woman elsewhere within the compound.
They alleged that at about midnight, the suspect set the hut ablaze while the girls were asleep.
One of the victims was burnt beyond recognition, while the second died in hospital after sustaining severe burns.
The girls’ father is from Tsehe in Katsina-Ala Local Government Area but currently resides at Kaffe in Zaki-Biam, Ukum Local Government Area. Their mother was said to be in Taraba State for farming activities when the incident occurred.
The police said the suspect, an indigene of Buruku Local Government Area, remained in custody and would be charged upon the conclusion of investigations.
