The police in Rivers State said a man allegedly set ablaze by his pregnant girlfriend has died.
The victim, Sunny Amadi, a 32-year-old man from Elibrada community in Emohua Local Government Area of Rivers, was set ablaze in his girlfriend’s room.
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He died at the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital, where he was taken for treatment, the police spokesperson in the state, Grace Iringe-Koko, said in a statement posted on Facebook on Tuesday.
“The Rivers State Police Command is aware of and deeply concerned about a circulating social media report depicting a fire incident that occurred at No. 11B Okoro Street, Choba, Port Harcourt.
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“According to the report, one Cynthia Chukwundah, a 300-level female undergraduate student of the University of Port Harcourt, allegedly set her boyfriend one Saint Sunny Amadi, a 32-year-old male from the Elibrada Community in Emohua LGA, ablaze in a room, resulting in severe injuries during the inferno, and was rushed to the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital for medical treatment.
“Upon receiving the report at about 11:12 a.m., police detectives from Choba Division promptly visited the scene and the victim at the hospital, who was in critical condition. Unfortunately, the victim later succumbed to injuries and died while on admission.”
Ms Iringe-Koko said Ms Chukwundah has been located in a hospital in the state where she is receiving treatment for injuries sustained from the incident.
“She is also heavily pregnant with the deceased’s child. Due to her critical condition, she is unable to provide a detailed account of the incident, but will do so when her condition is stable,” the police said.
Accused speaks from hospital bed
Although the police said the victim’s girlfriend was unable to speak due to her condition, the pregnant student could be seen in a video lying in a hospital bed and narrating how the incident happened. The video is posted on Facebook.
The police did not state when the incident occurred.
In the video posted on Facebook, the heavily pregnant Cynthia, dressed in a sleeveless top and a boxer, could be seen with burns on her face while one of her hands was bandaged.
She appeared to be narrating the cause of the incident to health workers in the hospital, saying she and the victim had issues and were no longer together.
“Somebody we had issues with for a very long time. We are no longer together. That week, he had been calling me several times, sending me text messages that I should come and eat, and that he wanted to buy me food. I said what kind of food I am okay with. Did I tell you food is my problem in Choba?
“Please, leave me alone. All of a sudden, on that particular night, I went out to get something. When I came back, I saw a lit candle in my house beside my bed. I thought it was my younger sister, Bennita. When I went outside, one lady who sells something there told me this guy has been waiting for me for over 20 minutes, that if I did not see him that he just walked to the main road. I said what for?”
“She said she returned home and turned off the candle. Her boyfriend, she said, returned to her house that night and lit another candle. She said she told him that she does not use candles at home, but an inbuilt torchlight from her phone.
“He came with a Lucozade ragolis,” she said, referring to a common name used in describing a 60cl water bottle. “I never knew it was fuel, I never knew his plans. When we were arguing that night. I was sitting on my bed with one of my feet down. I was pushing him to leave my house that I don’t want to see him in my house, telling him I have somebody I want to get married to.
“During that argument, he pushed the ragolis to the candle, and the thing exploded, which is why I had these burns, because it was very close to the bed. I had to rush out immediately, but he was inside the house,” she said, indicating that the victim may have sustained fatal injuries from the explosion.
“I ran out immediately to save myself. That is why I sustained these injuries,” she recounted.
“I don’t know the one I am hearing that I did it. That is how it happened,” she said in the video.
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“He came just to burn you or what?” a female voice could be heard asking her in the video.
“I don’t just know,” she responded. “He wanted to burn you alive,” the voice added. “I don’t know,” she responded.
In another video posted on Facebook, smoke could be seen coming out of the room where the incident happened. The fire destroyed the mattress in the room, leaving a skeletal bed frame.
“Relationship not by force. Marriage is not by force. See what one nonsense girlfriend did to her boyfriend, burnt her boyfriend to ashes,” someone said in the video.
In the video, many people could be seen hanging around the window of the room.
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