Boyfriend sets lover ablaze

23-year-old Winifred Okey, a graduate of Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, Abia State, serving in Rivers State was in her room in company with her roommate when her ex-boyfriend set their room ablaze.

According to a member of her family, “We learnt that her former boyfriend in the university, went to her room at night, emptied a keg of petrol on the door and set the building on fire. Other residents rushed to the scene and were able to rescue Winifred and her roommate, but Winifred had been badly burnt.

“They were rushed to the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital.”

It was learnt that Winifred’s parents stayed with her at the hospital till July 31, 2013, when the graduate of Home Economics died due to the burns she had sustained.

A cousin of the deceased said, “Winifred and the guy met in school, but the guy lives in Port Harcourt while we live in Lagos. The incident is still a shock to us.”

Friends of the deceased, however, said the ex-lover had been sending threat messages to her for leaving him. They were not, however, able to state, the cause of their estrangement.

Winifred was said to have been dating someone else, which did not go down well with the suspect.

The State Criminal Investigation Department immediately swung into action and began investigations into the matter. It was learnt that the police arrested the culprit, who had burns on  his hands.