‘My pastor said she’s behind my predicament’ – Daughter sets 86-yr-old mother ablaze; dies in hospital

A 45-year-old housewife, identified as Abiodun, nicknamed Iya Sunday, has given the reason for setting her 86-year-old mother ablaze in Ondo town, Ondo State in Nigeria.

The suspect said her pastor told her that her mother was behind her predicament.

After the ugly incident, the victim reportedly sustained burns from head to toe and is currently on admission at an undisclosed hospital, in the town.

Police said the aged woman later died in the hospital.

An eyewitness account said that the suspect, who visited her mother on Friday, around 5 a.m., called her out, then doused in petrol and set her on fire.

According to the eyewitness, “What happened between them before the incident we don’t know.

“But the suspect has been arrested by police at the Enu-Owa division for further investigation.”

Speaking, the suspect, Abiodun, alleged that she took the decision “because she was told that her mother was behind her predicament.

Abiodun confessed: “I went to my mother’s house around 4 a.m. and sat outside. When it was 5 a.m., I called out my mother from the house.

“Immediately she came out, not knowing what was happening, I poured petrol on her body and set her on fire.

“What started it is that I went to one pastor for prayer, and he told me that my mother was behind what was happening to me.

“I did not believe it at first. My mother also took me somewhere to see a woman. After my mother left, the woman also said the same thing.

“I burnt my mother because of what I heard from the pastor and the woman; that I can only be free from bondage when my mother is dead.”

Confirming the incident, the spokesperson for the state police command, Funmi Odunlami, said that the suspect had been arrested and that interrogation had commenced.

Odunlami said that the victim, later died in the hospital, a few days after she was admitted.