A man identified as Tochukwu Madu ,25, has set himself ablaze after a failed attempt to kill his mother with a cutlass in Bonny Street, Umuahia, Abia State capital.
The incident reportedly took place on Wednesday, June 3, 2015 at their residence on No. 12 Bonny Street which was also razed during the encounter.
According to a report by Punch, part of the building, located at the heart of the state capital, serves as stores for traders, who have converted the street to a mini-market after the relocation of the Umuahia Main Market from a nearby location to Ubani.
A source, said to be a tenant in the building, disclosed that Madu, was a notorious Indian hemp smoker and that he attacked his mother around 10:30 pm after locking her up in their two-room apartment.
Furthermore, another source disclosed that Madu inflicted several deep cuts in the mother’s head and upper arm until she slumped and pretended to be dead before he left her to kill their dog, which was barking inside the compound.
The woman was said to have escaped death by a hair’s breadth by scaling through the window before her son could return to complete his mission.
The culprit was said to have made a move to slaughter his elder brother whom he had also locked up in another room, but the brother was smart enough to escape through the ceiling.
It was gathered that some neighbours immediately called the attention of the police to the scene but on arrival, Madu was nowhere to be found.
The police launched a search for the suspect who was said to have disappeared into one of the rooms in their house where he securely locked up himself and subsequently poured fuel on himself and set himself on fire.
The source said, “As the police were looking for him and could not see him, what we noticed suddenly was that smoke started coming out from one of the rooms. Before it was broken, the whole house was already up in flames.
“When finally, the door to the room was broken, he was found burning and efforts to save him proved abortive as he died immediately as a result of severe burns.”
Mrs. Madu (tenant), who said she lost all her property to the inferno, appealed to the government and public-spirited individuals to come to her rescue and that of other tenants, adding that nobody could save a pin from the house.
The victim who sustained deep machete cuts is currently admitted at the intensive care unit of the Federal Medical Centre, Umuahia, where doctors are still battling to save her life.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Ezekiel Onyeke, who confirmed the incident said it was very unfortunate.
He disclosed that the injured woman had been responding to treatment and appealed to parents to report any of their children or wards suspected to be consuming any form of hard drug to the law enforcement agents for necessary actions to avoid any form of colossal damage.
