Police arrest 75-year-old woman for setting her son, daughter-in-law, and grandchild ablaze

The woman attributed her action to the fact that the victims didn’t give her food.

Operatives of Ondo Police Command, have arrested a 75-year-old woman for setting ablaze her son, daughter-in-law, and grandchild in the Aponmu community in Akure South Local Government Area of the state.

The incident reportedly happened in the early hours of Sunday, March 19, 2023, while the victims were sleeping.

Following the incident, three of the victims were said to have passed away.

A source in the community, who spoke on a condition of anonymity, stated that the grandma attributed her action to the fact that the victims were allegedly starving her.

“When asked why she did what she did, she said her son and her wife were starving her,” the source was quoted as saying.

Corroborating the source’s claim, a neighbour of the victims, Korede Michael said he saw the victims’ house on fire around 2 am on the day the incident happened and had to break the window to rescue them.

Michael said, “The woman; her son, Victor Oloro; wife, Rachael; and children, Toluwani and Blessed, were all in the house when she set it on fire. She got some dry palm fronds and a little petrol her son kept in a gallon, spread it around the house and then set it on fire.

“I was the first person to notice the fire and jumped into the house before other members of the community joined me in rescuing them. We got a vehicle immediately to transport them to the government hospital in Akure.

“When we got to Akure, the doctors rejected the patients, saying they cannot take care of them due to the degree of the burn and advised that we should take them to the Federal Medical Centre in Owo.

“Unfortunately, the last grandchild, who was just two-and-a-half-year-old, died immediately after we got to Owo. On Sunday, the son and his wife gave up the ghost while the only grandchild left is in a critical condition.”

Ondo Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Funmilayo Odunlami confirmed the incident, saying the State Criminal Investigative Department (SCID) of the state command is now in charge of the case.