A middle-aged woman has been arrested for allegedly setting a policewoman and her two children ablaze in Nnokwa, Idemili South Local Government Area (LGA) of Anambra State, 9News Nigeria reports.
The suspect, identified as Nneamaka Nwosu, a native of Amawbia in Awka South LGA, 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 following her divorce from her husband.
“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 quarrelled with the policewoman which led to a fight. She hit the police woman 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 a local vigilante and some villagers who were attracted by the fire, while she was trying to escape.
When the vigilante 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 that made me 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 that the suspect had been arrested and the bodies of the policewoman and her children were deposited in the mortuary.
Ikenga said that 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 woman police 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.
