The police in Delta state have arrested a middle aged man suspected to be insane in connection with the serial fuel fire attacks on families in their homes in Ogwashi-uku, Aniocha South Local Government Area of Delta state.
The suspect who was arrested by the community’s vigilante group around a borrow pit along Ubulu-Unor road with a gallon of fuel and matches, was immediately handed over to the police.
Police sources revealed that the suspect, who was arrested not too far from the house of one of the victims of the fuel fire-attack, has refused to talk during interrogation.
The victim, Pastor Sydney Nwinga of Redeem Christian Church of God who lost two children in the attack, is presently receiving treatment at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu for severe burns.
Police sources further disclosed that the police have decided to keep him in custody to establish whether he was the actual person pouring fuel through the windows of victims before setting them ablaze in their sleep or whether another attack will occur after the arrest.
The State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Andy Aniamaka, who confirmed the arrest of the so-called mentally-challenged man said the police was investigating the claim to ascertain whether he is truly insane.
So far, over five families in Ogwashi-Uku have been attacked by spraying fuel into their homes at night through windows and then setting them ablaze.
Five children were said to have lost their lives in the inferno that ensued while survivors were still battling with their lives at various hospitals.
However, the Ozoma of Ogwashi-Uku, Chief Lawrence Okolobi who had earlier spoken on the sad development described the new crime as worrisome, saying that the community authority has tasked the vigilante groups to buckle up and nip the terror in the bud.
