Tragedy as man burns self to death over misunderstanding in Ebonyi

Residents of Ufuogene village in Umudomi, Onicha Igboeze in Onicha Local Government Area of Ebonyi state were on Tuesday thrown into shock as a middle-aged man, Michael Okoro, allegedly burnt himself to death after an unresolved misunderstanding with his sister.

According to New Telegraph, Okoro who was angered after the misunderstanding with his sister simply identified as Joy, drenched his body in kerosene and set fire on himself.

Speaking on the incident, a witness and resident of the area who identified himself as Sylvester Eze, said Okoro had a misunderstanding with Joy, one of his sisters.

Eze said, “Okoro had a serious misunderstanding with Joy to the extent that he brought out a machete to kill her but the girl fled.

“In anger, the man came back, grabbed a keg of kerosene, emptied it on his body and instantly lit a match on himself,” Ese said, adding that some people raised the alarm but before people got to the scene to assist Okoro, he had sustained a high degree of burns.

Eze further stated that Okoro was rushed to Onicha General Hospital but was referred to the Federal Teaching Hospital, FTH, Abakaliki.

Meanwhile, one Nkemdilim, another resident of the area, reportedly claimed that Okoro had a psychological problem.

When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, ASP George Okafor, confirmed the incident, saying as the family members were making arrangements on how to transfer him to FTH, Okoro gave up the ghost.

Okafor said the body had been deposited in a morgue.

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