A man identified as Mr Onyiuke Nwedeogu has set himself and their family house ablaze after a minor misunderstanding with his wife at Ndiechi Igbeagu in Izzi local government area of Ebonyi State.
It was gathered that the wife, Mrs Felicia Nwedeogu, and their three daughters were also inside the house when the house was set ablaze by the deceased.
Sources close to the community who spoke on grounds of anonymity said the conflict began on Sunday morning when Onyiuke had a minor altercation with his wife during which he beat her up.
The source revealed that the deceased thereafter packed all his clothes and took them to his provision shop.
The source stated that Mr Onyiuke also reported the matter to his parents, who live few kilometres away from their house but he was dissatisfied with the outcome of the mediation.
Shortly after the failed mediation, the deceased rushed back to his residence, forcibly removed the window protector where his wife and three children were, and set the building on fire with motor spirit, despite knowing that the family was asleep in the early hours of the morning.
Another source revealed that after the altercation, the man took his belongings to their provision store, locked it and left only to return at night with a gallon of motor spirit and set himself and the house on fire.
He added that Mrs Felicia Nwedeogu and her three children were rescued through the same window where the husband had removed the protector when the fire had engulfed the entire building.
“The deceased was rushed to Alex Ekwueme Federal Teaching Hospital (AE-FETHA), where he died on Wednesday”, he said.
The source disclosed that the body of the deceased has been deposited at the AE-FETHA morgue.
When contacted, the police public relations officer (PPRO) DSP Joshua Ukandu said the command was yet to be briefed on the matter as the family might not have reported the incident to the police.
He promised to communicate with the divisional police officer (DPO) Izzi division for further information on the matter.
