An 18-year-old girl identified as Esther Alex, in the early hours of Monday, allegedly set her boyfriend ablaze.
The incident happened at Zaki Biam in Wadata area of Makurdi, the capital city of Benue State.
A neighbour to the boyfriend who did not want his name in print explained that the two love birds had been together for over two years and had planned to get married.
The neighbour added that the boyfriend who he identified as Chidimma Omah was having a misunderstanding with the girl before the incident.
According to the neighbour: “The two love birds have been having misunderstanding.
“But around 2am today (Monday), we heard a loud noise which woke people up and we later discovered that a house was burning.
“It was later we gathered that a girl who had misunderstanding with her boyfriend decided to punish him.
“As of now, we cannot say specifically what the misunderstanding was but by the time we got to the scene of the incident, the young man was severely burnt and had to be rushed to the hospital.”
Our correspondent learnt that neighbours later rescued the young man and took him to the Federal Medical Center in Makurdi for treatment.
The Public Relations Officer for Benue State Police Command, DSP Catherine Anene, confirmed the incident.
Anene said the 18-year-old girl poured petrol around the victim’s one-room apartment before setting it on fire.
Anene said the girl has been arrested and brought into the police custody at the time of sending this report.
She added: “We don’t know yet why she did that.
“We are yet to question her but I can confirm that she has been arrested and brought to our custody.
“The incident happened about 2am today (Monday) at ZakiBiam Street in Wadata.
“We will let you know further details.”
The PUNCH.
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