A man in his early thirties, identified as Mr Onyiuke Nwedeogu, allegedly set himself ablaze in the early hours of Sunday after a minor altercation with his wife.
The late Onyiuke also set the family house on fire, where his wife, Mrs Felicia Nwedeogu, and their three daughters lived.
The tragic incident occurred at Ndiechi Igbeagu in Izzi Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.
According to an eyewitness, who requested anonymity, the conflict began on Sunday morning when Onyiuke had a minor altercation with his wife, leading him to beat her.
Afterward, he gathered all his clothes and placed them in their provision shop.
The eyewitness added that Onyiuke took the matter to his parents, who lived a few kilometres away, but was dissatisfied with their attempts to mediate.
He then rushed back to his residence, forcibly removed the window protector where his wife and three children were, and set the building on fire with motor spirit, despite knowing the family was asleep in the early hours of the morning.
Another source revealed that after the altercation, the man took his belongings to their provision store, locked it, and left, only to return at night with a gallon of motor spirit and set the house on fire.
The source added that Mrs Felicia Nwedeogu and her three children were rescued through the same window where the husband had removed the protector when the fire had engulfed the entire building.
The man, after setting the building on fire, drove away in his bus to a location where one Elijah rushed him to Alex Ekwueme Federal Teaching Hospital (AE-FETHA), where he died on Wednesday.
The deceased’s body has been deposited at the AE-FETHA morgue, and it was further learned that the bereaved wife and children were rescued with only a wrapper and children’s pants.
When contacted, Ebonyi Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Joshua Ukandu, stated that the command had yet to receive the report at the time of this report.
