Daughter sets 85-year-old mother ablaze in Ondo over witchcraft

A 45-year-old woman, simply identified as Ms Abiodun, has set her biological mother ablaze in Ondo State after accusing her of witchcraft.

The tragedy occurred in the Surulere axis of Ondo West Local Government Area of the state.

Daily Trust gathered that the 85-year-old victim sustained burns from her head to the toes during the incident.

• Tour of the Billion-Naira Luxury Homes of Nigeria’s State Governors
• South Africa’s Ramaphosa re-elected after coalition deal

Eyewitness accounts revealed that the suspect came to her mother’s house Saturday morning to carry out the heinous crime.

One of the witnesses, Sola Oladele, said the suspect brought out a gallon of petrol and poured it on the octogenarian.

“We don’t know what transpired before the sad incident, but she came as early as 5am and called out the old woman before pouring petrol on her,” Oladele said.

He revealed that the residents of the street immediately called the police from Enu-Owa Division and she was arrested.

But in a video obtained by our reporter, the suspect was seen in the footage complaining about the activities of her mother.

She revealed that she set her ablaze because the old woman was allegedly behind her predicament.

She said, “I went to my mother’s house and when it was 5 am, I called her out from the house. Immediately after she came out, I poured petrol on her and set her on fire.

“I did that because she is behind my predicament. I went to someone to pray and I was told that she was behind all my problems.

“Firstly, I did not believe it until when she took me to a place and after she had left, I was told the same thing that she was behind my predicament.

“So, since the pastor said I can only be free from bondage until she dies, I decided to take action by pouring petrol on her.”

Confirming the incident, the spokesperson for the Ondo State Police Command, Funmilayo Odunlami-Omisanya, said the case had been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department in Akure.

Odunlami-Omisanya, however, revealed that the old woman died in the early hours of Saturday following the burns she sustained from the incident.

“The case is currently being investigated by the SCID here in Akure but the old woman died this morning (Saturday) following the injuries she suffered from the burns,” she added.