Man sets self ablaze in Ondo

Akinwande Soji-Ojo

A 50-year-old man, identified as Ojo Ogundeji, has reportedly set himself ablaze at his father’s house in Ondo town, Ondo State.

It was gathered that the man deliberately locked himself in a room and set himself on fire at the house located at the Odojomu Oloruntedo area of the town.

The reason for his act was unknown, but a resident who spoke on to newsmen on condition of anonymity linked Ojo’s action to depression. The resident said the man came from Lagos to celebrate Christmas and New Year with his family.

“The man was rescued by neighbours on the street and rushed to the hospital where he later gave up the ghost,” the resident added.

His father’s house where he committed the act was burning before the men of the state fire service came to put out the fire.

Narrating the incident, a member of the victim’s family, Mrs Sabaina Ogundeji, said the victim set fire under the staircase of the house in the morning on that day and said nobody should put it off. She added that it was people in the area that put out the fire.

“In the evening, everybody was outside playing. So, Ojo went in and brought out his clothes and set them on fire. He later went inside and locked himself up in the room and set it on fire. It was his voice we heard when he was shouting. People ran there to force the door open and brought him out. But he later died in the hospital,” Mrs Ogundeji said.

The remains of the victim has been deposited at the morgue of the state hospital in Ondo.