A 75-year-old grandmother, identified as Iforiti Oloro, has allegedly set her son, daughter-in-law, and grandchildren ablaze in Ondo State.
It was gathered that the grandmother, who resides with her son, Victor Oloro, and his family in the same house, set the house ablaze while the family members were asleep.
While one of the grandchildren survived and is in critical condition at the Federal Medical Center (FMC), Owo, Victor, his wife, Rachel, and their other child died.
The People’s Gazette reports that the tragic incident occurred at Aponmu, a suburb of Akure, Ondo’s capital city, last Saturday, March 18.
A resident in the community, Bayo Adegboyega, who confirmed the incident to The Gazette, said,
“We noticed that the building was on fire around 2:00 a.m., and all the family members were at home. I had to join neighbours close to the building in putting off the fire by breaking the windows to gain entry,” he narrated.
“Sadly, by the time we entered, the man (Victor Oloro), his wife (Racheal), and two children ( Toluwani and Blessing) had been affected by the fire.”
He also mentioned that the victims were taken to a state hospital in Akure but were rejected due to the degrees of burns suffered from the fire incident.
“So, we rushed them to the Federal Medical Centre in Owo, but unfortunately, we lost the last born on arrival while on Sunday night, the man and his wife died. Only the firstborn is alive but in a critical condition,” Mr Adegboyega added
While describing the incident as “bizarre and shocking,” Mr Adegboyega said the residents later learned that the grandmother allegedly set the building on fire.
“It was yesterday (Monday) that we got to know that the old woman got some dry palm fronds and the little petrol her son kept in a gallon, spread it around the house, and set the house on fire. While confessing, the woman said she set the house on fire because her son and his wife were allegedly starving her of food.”
The spokesman of the command, Funmilayo Odunlami-Omisanya, who confirmed the incident on Tuesday morning, said that the divisional police officer in the community was still awaiting the details of the incident.
Her words,
“I’m still awaiting full details of the incident from the DPO in charge of the area. So, I would advise you to give me more time to gather the facts”.
Meanwhile, friends have taken to social media to mourn the couple and their child.
