18-year-old girl arrested for setting boyfriend ablaze in Benue

An 18-year-old girl has been arrested in Makurdi for allegedly setting her lover’s house ablaze, with the intention of killing her boyfriend now in the hospital, having suffered serious burns.

The teenage girl reportedly poured petrol on the victim’s one-room apartment before setting it on fire.

The incident happened at Zaki Biam in the Wadata area of Makurdi, Benue State.

A neighbour of the victim, who did not want his name in print, explained that the lovebirds had been together for over two years and were planning to get married to each other.

The victim identified as Chidimma Omah reportedly had a misunderstanding with the girl before the incident.

A neighbour said the duo had been having misunderstandings. “But around 2am today (Monday), we heard a loud noise, which woke people up and we later discovered that a house was burning.

“It was later that we gathered that a girl, who had a misunderstanding with her boyfriend, decided to punish him.

“As of now, we cannot say specifically what the misunderstanding was about, but by the time we got to the scene of the incident, the young man was severely burnt and had to be rushed to hospital.”

It was learnt that neighbours rescued the young man and rushed him to the Federal Medical Centre in Makurdi for treatment.

Police Public Relations Officer in the state, DSP Catherine Anene, confirmed the incident, saying the teenage girl poured petrol on the victim’s one-room apartment before setting it on fire.

The PPRO added that the girl had been arrested and was in police custody.

Anene stated, “We don’t know yet why she did that. We have yet to question her, but I can confirm that she has been arrested and is in our custody.

“The incident happened around 2am today (Monday) on Zaki Biam Street in Wadata. We will let you know the details.”