Operatives of Ogun Police Command are currently on the trail of a middle-aged man, Hassan Azeez, for allegedly setting his wife, Olayinka, ablaze in the early hours of Friday at their residence in the Ibogun Olaogun area of the state.
Sources said Azeez, popularly called ‘Saudi’ by friends, had an altercation with his wife, who is a mother of one, accusing her of delaying his breakfast early in the day.
However, reports said Olayinka calmly explained to Azeez that she would serve him his breakfast after she finished her early morning chores, an excuse that got Azeez furious.
Suddenly launching into a heated argument with the wife, Azeez allegedly went for a gallon of petrol and, without restraint, poured it on her before setting her ablaze.
The incident caused pandemonium in the Ibogun Olaogun community, ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo’s village. Azeez allegedly threatened residents against any attempt to intervene in the matter.
According to an eyewitness account, “A male passerby, who was touched by the woman’s plight, had one of his legs burned while he was trying to save her from the inferno.”
It was reliably gathered that the 33-year-old Olayinka was eventually rescued by some residents who forced her husband to take her to a hospital for medical care. However, Azeez refused to heed the advice and instead settled for a hired nurse to care for Olayinka at their residence.
Her condition, however, deteriorated when residents contacted Olayinka’s father, Pa Akintade, who lives in Ibadan, Oyo State. In the process, she was evacuated to a hospital in Ibadan, Oyo State, where doctors have been battling to save her life.
After the matter was reported to the Ibogun Police Division, family sources hinted that Azeez decided to flee from the community. His whereabouts have remained unknown since then.
Commenting on his daughter’s health, Pa Akintade explained that specialist doctors who examined her said a sum of N1.5 million was needed for urgent surgery to restore her to good health and shape as her hands had become contorted from the fire.
He said, “Azeez did not request for my daughter’s hand in marriage, and he is not ready to do anything according to Yoruba marriage tradition.
“Some specialist doctors who came to examine my daughter at the hospital where she is being treated said we would have to provide a sum of N1.5 million to carry out a surgery on her body because her hands and other parts of her body have been severely burnt and contorted.”
When contacted, the spokesman for Ogun Police Command, Mr Abimbola Oyeyemi, confirmed the incident, saying Police operatives were already on the trail of Azeez.
According to Oyeyemi, a Superintendent of Police (SP), “It is true, and we are currently still on his (Azeez) trail.” He assured her that the culprit would soon be brought to book.
