Tragedy as woman burns boyfriend’s daughters to death in Benue

A woman is reported to have burnt alive two teenage daughters of her boyfriend during the early hours of Monday at Kaffe in Zaki-Biam town of Ukum Local Government Area in Benue State.

According to reports, the woman whose name is given only as Mbayegh allegedly started the fire when she suspected the presence of another woman in the traditional round house along with her boyfriend. However, unknown to the woman, the boyfriend was neither in the house, nor was there any other woman.

Rather two teenage daughters of the man sleeping inside the house were caught in the fire. While one of the victims died on the spot, the second later died of the injuries caused by the fire at a hospital. According to the police, the girls whose names are listed are: Precious Ordo aged six years and Sember Ordo aged four years.

It is said that Mbayegh had previously visited the house of her boyfriend Aondoyima Ierkwagh at night, however, she was asked to leave.

The witnesses also claimed that she failed to exit the premises after realizing that another woman was in the house of the man, a situation that led to an altercation.

According to our reporter, Aondoyima later locked up both of his daughters in the hut and left the compound.

Witnesses revealed that the suspect allegedly torched the hut because he had mistaken the man’s alleged lover to be in the hut but unaware of the fact that the two girls were sleeping in the hut.

The mother of the dead girls was reportedly in Taraba State doing some farming work at the time of the incident.

Also, witnesses have revealed that the suspect reportedly fled after committing the act but was arrested close to Tse-Dugwer village by members of the Benue State Volunteer Guards, who subsequently turned him over to the police.

Ter Ukum, Chief Orkaa Kaave, the traditional ruler of Ukum, stated that there was an incident through telephone. He revealed that the wife of the person went outside her house in order to engage herself in agriculture.

He said, “According to the information that I got from the District Head of the place where the incident took place, it was an issue of a woman jealous lover suspecting that her man friend was with his love in the hut and decided to burn the hut.”

“Unknown to her, the man had allegedly escaped with his new lover to another location while his two daughters slept in the hut. She is said to have been apprehended by the police.”

The police spokesperson for Benue Command, DSP Udeme Edet, on Tuesday confirmed the incident to our correspondent in Makurdi on telephone, saying that the suspect is already in custody and assisting investigators.

“We don’t really know if it was a lovers quarrel that resulted to the act but the details we got from the father of the deceased who reported the matter at the police station was that, a person set his house on fire.

“And that neighbours tried to rescue his two girls who were rushed to the hospital. Tragically, they died while receiving treatment. So I can’t say whether it was a lovers quarrel.

“However, a suspect was arrested and investigation is currently ongoing to unravel the circumstances surrounding the incident,” Edet said.

A Psychosocial therapist at the Federal Medical Center (FMC) in Makurdi, Ukeh George, said the suspect may be suffering from a mental health condition.

“We need to do a psycho pathological assessment of the offender to reach a professional conclusion. However, we may conclude that she a stereotypical sociopath,” George said.

Also, a Forensic psychologist, Geoffrey Orsuur, opined that the action of the suspect fell within the context of aggression occasioned by the malfunctioning of the frontal section of the brain.

He added, “Her family background must be traced before one can come to conclusions as the behaviour could be a combination of different factors to include biological, social or more. She must be examined to know her mental state.”