Saheed Ganiyu, a 47-year-old vulcanizer, is being held in jail at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command’s Utako Division after he allegedly set his girlfriend, Esther, on fire following a furious dispute.
It was learned that the perpetrator used a lighter to put the victim on fire after dousing her in gasoline.
The suspect, however, has refuted the accusation, claiming that the cigarette he was attempting to light was the cause of the fire and expressing his affection for the victim.
The cops also hurried the suspect to the hospital for medical attention after the mob nearly lynched him. However, a few days later, he was turned up to the police.
At approximately 10:15 p.m. on December 29, 2024, a distress call was placed to the FCT Police Command Control Room informing them of an issue at Jabi Motor Park.Olatunji Disu, the Commissioner of Police, sent a patrol squad from Utako Division to the area right once, and when they arrived, they found a sizable throng.
The suspect, who had already been severely battered to unconsciousness, and his girlfriend, Esther, who was severely burned, were among the crowd.
The woman was reportedly rendered unconscious by the time they were taken to the National Hospital in Abuja for medical treatment after being evacuated right away.
The police investigating the scene found that the suspect and his girlfriend had been arguing violently and had been pulling and dragging each other around the motor park when the suspect, carrying a plastic bottle with roughly half a liter of gasoline, poured the flammable liquid on the girlfriend and lit a fire with his lighter.
People hurried to assist her in putting out the flames that instantly consumed her. But at that time, she was badly burned.
The mob reportedly surrounded him after becoming enraged by the conduct. While Esther was still being treated, he was released on December 31 and brought to the police station.
Ganiyu, from Ibadan, Oyo State, told the publication in an interview that he didn’t intentionally set his girlfriend on fire, but that he was unaware that the gasoline bottle he had placed in his armpit had leaked and sprinkled her dress as they were fighting over the lit cigarette she wanted to take from him.
He also said that Esther was attempting to get back at him for his disapproval of her alcoholism.
“I came to stay in Abuja in 2008. Esther is my girlfriend, and I love her so much. We started dating in February 2024,” he said.
“Esther is a lady who used to help me a lot. She would come to my business stand every morning and clean everywhere. She would also put my vulcanising machine in the appropriate place.
“On Sunday, December 29, she told me that she was going to church and I gave her N200 as an offering. I also gave her N2,500 to buy something that we could eat on her return.
“I expected her to return from church and waited at my stand but didn’t see her. Before that day, she had asked me for clothes and shoes she would wear in the new year, so I put the money I made together and went to buy a shirt and a pair of shoes for her at the cost of N30,000 before her return. I planned to buy the jeans she would wear with the shirt before the New Year.
“At about 6 pm, I closed from my stand and went to the side I used to stay for night work. To my displeasure, I saw my girl where ogogoro (alcohol) was being sold. She was taking the one named ‘yahoo.’ I called her and asked why she did that again when she told me that she was going to church as she had changed from being an alcoholic.
“I tried to collect the bottle from her and she was dragging it with me. I collected it and threw it away. I went to the place I was doing my night job and called her several times to go and help buy petrol that I would use, but she didn’t respond. She still stayed where alcohol was being sold. I went to buy the petrol myself, just half a litre.
“When I returned, I saw her holding another bottle of alcohol. I held her from the back and tried to snatch the bottle from her. I didn’t know that the cover of the petrol bottle I held in my armpit was twisting and turning. I continued dragging the alcohol bottle she held. I pushed her and she pushed me back, making the fuel bottle fall. She was pouring vituperation on me but I left the place.
“I went to buy cigarettes, and as I was smoking the first one, Esther came and removed it from my mouth. As I put the second one and wanted to light it, Esther came to me again. Then I heard something like an explosion. Then I saw her body on fire. I didn’t know that the fuel that had initially dripped had soaked her dress.
“Esther is my love that I don’t joke with. If she went out to buy something and didn’t return in time, I would be so concerned. I love her so much that I would not eat if she had not eaten. I used to make her eat first. She can be asked if I’m lying. I didn’t like her to be troubled, especially because of the leg deformity she has. On December 23, I sustained this injury (showing it) because of her. One Aboki taunted her deformity by calling her Gurugu (someone limping) and I was so furious.”
He claimed that seeing her drinking alcohol was not the first time he had ever seen it.
“I noticed it after we started dating. I corrected her many times but she always flared up. She was drinking Bull, Yahoo, and Igboya, among other alcoholic drinks. Though I also take it, I don’t like such a thing for a woman. And I don’t take it while at work. I don’t take any drugs, only cigarettes. She was also always taking Tramadol, telling me that her leg was paining her.
“I didn’t pour petrol on her. It was the devil that turned things this way. Since she was hospitalized, despite my own condition as a result of much beating, I have not felt well. I know that my life has been destroyed.
“I appeal that I should be allowed to see her. I’m ready to marry her. Though I’m a Muslim, I want her to be going to church so that she can be transformed positively. She was already changing at a time when she started attending church,” he said.
According to the source, the suspect is a divorcee whose ex-wife remarried a long time ago. One of his three children, all male, is already a father.
According to Mr. Modaki Kofur, Esther’s uncle and a former Nigerian Army Warrant Officer, Esther used to live with him. “Esther was with me when my sister was in Taraba State.
“The deformity she has is a result of her falling during obstacles training when she was to be recruited into the Nigerian Navy about 12 years ago. She broke her hip bone.
“She left my house over two years ago, and I thought she was in Enugu State, where she said she was going to work. She came to where my family is in February 2024. She said that her life was not going smoothly and had been told to go back to me for prayers. I told her that I always wish her well.
“To my surprise, I heard of what happened to her on December 31. I was told that she was rushed to the National Hospital. I went on January 1 and saw her in a terrible state. The problem we have now is money to take care of her. We have spent a lot since the incident occurred, and we were told by the hospital that she may need to be there for two months. That’s why we have been telling the man who caused the problem to look for more money, but he has not been able to do anything.”
In order to prevent unanticipated negative outcomes, CP Disu emphasized the need of controlled anger in his comment and advised the people to always be patient and seek peace wherever there is disagreement.
After the investigation was over, he noted, the suspect would be arraigned in court.