A middle-aged woman has been arrested for allegedly setting a policewoman and her two children ablaze in Nnokwa, Idemili South Local Government Area of Anambra State.
The suspect, identified as Nneamaka Nwosu, a native of Amawbia in Awka South Local Government Area of the state, was said to have come in contact with the deceased when she became homeless following a divorce.
A resident of the area, who pleaded anonymity, said the suspect, Nwosu, had gone to live with the policewoman shortly after she became homeless and in dire need of accommodation after her husband sent her out of their home.
“As soon as the husband divorced her, she confided in the policewoman, who benevolently offered her accommodation in her apartment. On that fateful day, she had a quarrel with the policewoman, which led to a fight. She hit the policewoman on the head with a pestle and she fell and became unconscious. She quickly tied the policewoman and her two kids together with a rope inside their room and set them ablaze together with the building,” he said.
It was gathered that the suspect was apprehended by local vigilantes and some villagers who were attracted by the fire, while she was trying to escape.
When the vigilantes interrogated her, she initially denied the act, claiming it was a case of gas explosion while the deceased and her children were boiling water. Nwosu later confessed to the crime, attributing it to the handiwork of the devil.
“I did not know what came over me to commit the crime. I deserve to be shot dead for this wicked act against the person who helped me in my time of need,” she said.
Confirming the incident, the Anambra State Police Command’s Public Relations Officer, DSP Tochukwu Ikenga, said the suspect had been arrested and the bodies of the policewoman and her children deposited at the mortuary. Ikenga said the case had been transferred to the State Investigation Department (CID) for further investigation and prosecution.
He said: “Preliminary information reveals 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 policewoman 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 promised.
(THE SUN)
