A woman, Mrs Chigozie Onuobu, and her three children have been burnt to death after fire gutted their thatched house in Aguabata Echara in the Ikwo Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.
PUNCH Metro learnt that the victims were sleeping on Tuesday night when tragedy struck.
A cousin to Onuobu, Samuel Okoro, in a telephone chat with journalists on Wednesday, said he suspected foul play.
He said, “I don’t think it was not deliberate. There was no trace of bush burning around the building. Moreover, they had a separate kitchen where they cooked. The woman was my cousin. Actually, the man married two wives, but the first wife is not living with them in the same compound.
“I was told that when some people called the husband of the deceased on the development, he nearly fainted. When we asked of him, neighbours said they didn’t know his whereabouts. Maybe they felt we wanted to beat the man or express our anger.”
Another source said there was a land dispute between the victims’ family and another family, who threatened to wipe them out.
The resident noted that it was not long after they received the threat that the incident happened
He disclosed that two persons had been arrested in connection to the incident.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Mrs Loveth Odah, said she was in a meeting.
She, however, promised to reach the Divisional Police Officer, Ikwo, to get situation reports in the area.
Odah had yet to do so as of the time of filing this report.
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