A yet-to-be-identified man, on Friday, set himself and his wife ablaze at the Ijoka area of Akure, Ondo State.
The husband died in the inferno while his wife survived the incident.
It was gathered that the couple, who had been married for 10 years with two children, had been separated as a result of an undisclosed marital issue.
The incident was disclosed by the Ondo State police command on its X handle on Friday.
The police reported that the deceased took the action after his wife refused to reunite with him.
A police source, who craved anonymity because he was not authorised to speak on the matter, said, “The man had been separated from his wife for some time but he had been begging her to end the dispute for them to continue living as husband and wife. However, the wife refused.
“On a fateful day, the deceased invited his estranged wife to his house to pick up an item. When she arrived, he started begging her again. But the wife insisted on not reconciling, which led him to lock the door from the back, pour petrol on both himself and the woman, and set the two of them on fire. He died on the spot.”
When contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Funmilayo Odunlami, confirmed the incident, adding that while the husband died, the wife was still in hospital receiving treatment.
Odunlami stated, “They were married and, along the way, had issues that caused them to stay apart. The deceased asked his wife to come over and collect a wardrobe. When she arrived, he began threatening to kill himself but later locked the door so that both of them would die together.
“Using fuel and a lighter, he set himself and the woman ablaze. He died on the spot, while the woman suffered major burns.”
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