One Sola Solomon, a 67-year-old landlord at Iga Idunganran Street in Idumota, Lagos Island area, of Lagos State, has allegedly poured petrol and set fire on one of his tenants, Abeeb, a father of one, over a disagreement on the use of the compound’s toilet.
The victim, who had barely spent five months in the house, was reportedly struggling to put out the flames, but was pushed down by the landlord from the top floor of the three-storey building and landed with a thud, as the flames consumed his body.
A former occupant of Abeeb’s room, Ruka Rufai, expressed regret on passing the room to the deceased, saying she left the room due to constant threats to her life from the landlord.
She said, “I left that room about five months ago. The landlord threatened me, so I decided to vacate the room. Abeeb pleaded with me that he needed the accommodation. Now, he has been killed,” she sobbed.
A fellow tenant, who didn’t want her name mentioned, explained that the quarrel had been settled in the evening and she had pleaded with both parties to maintain the peace.
She said, “Before the sad incident yesterday, there had been a squabble in the house over the use of the toilet. Everybody had complained that the landlord always messed up the toilet after use.
“But yesterday, he had another quarrel with Abeeb over the use of the toilet. During the argument, he threatened to set the man ablaze.
“Later in the evening, the landlord was seen carrying a keg, saying he was going to buy fuel but no one thought he was going to carry out his threat.
“I called Abeeb and calmed him down; I also called the landlord and appealed to him to let the matter go, and he said he had forgiven Abeeb.”
As the story goes, the Osun State indegene was alleged to have bought the fuel and waited patiently in his room till the victim returned from a football viewing centre, where he had gone to watch a English league match between Arsenal and Liverpool football clubs.
By 12 am, the landlord was said to have wet the passageway of the house and knocked on the door of the deceased.
Another tenant, who pleaded anonymity, said the victim’s wife begged him not to go out but when the continuous knock on the door became unbearable, Abeeb came out to confront the intruder, only to see the landlord with a container of fuel.
The tenant said, “As Abeeb stepped out of the house, the landlord poured the petrol on him. Before Abeeb could snatch the jerry can from him, the landlord had ignited fire with a lighter in his hand.
“Abeeb struggled to put out the fire, but the landlord pushed him down from the third floor. He fell to the ground and died.”
Reports say security guards in the area intervened and stopped the fire from intensifying, as the other tenants in the house had already abandoned the building and fled for fear of being burnt too.
Abeeb’s corpse was removed from the scene by policemen from the Adeniji Adele Police Division. The landlord who caught fire blisters was taken to the hospital by policemen.
A resident, John Ameh, said the landlord was initially rejected at the Lagos Island General Hospital and was taken to the Gbagada General Hospital.
One of Abeeb’s friends, who claimed to be in the same football academy with the victim but did not want to be identified, said he was shocked when he learnt about the incident on the Facebook wall of a mutual friend. He expressed doubt that the suspect would face justice.
A resident, Habib Suleiman, urged the state government to pursue the case against the suspect to a logical end and seize the property.
As at the time of this report, the Police Public Relations Officer, Patricia Amadin, who was contacted on the development, hadn’t released a statement.
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