Mother, three daughters consumed by inferno

A mother and her three daughters have been consumed by a blaze that gutted their house in Aguabata Echara, in the Ikwo Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.

The woman, identified as and her children were deep asleep when the mid-night inferno occurred on Tuesday.

A cousin to the deceased Samuel Okoro reportedly suspected a foul play.

“I don’t think it was not deliberate. There was no trace of bush burning around the building, he was quoted to have said.

Okoro further said that the woman was a second wife to her husband, who lives separately.

“I was told that when some people called the husband of the deceased on the development, he nearly fainted. When we asked of him, neighbours said they didn’t know his whereabouts.

Maybe they felt we wanted to beat the man or express our anger,” he said.

Another source suspected the family could have been killed by someone with whom they were having a dispute over a land. The source claimed the unnamed person had threatened to wipe out the family not long before the fatal fire incident.

Two persons have been arrested, however the police are yet to confirm the arrest.