The event took another dimension when Emmanuel, son of one the tenants, Pastor Matthew Asuquo was found completely burnt about an hour after the fire incident was noticed. Neighbours and the landlord, who were shocked at the discovery concluded that Emmanuel got burnt while trying to ignite the fire that razed down one of the rooms. Pastor Asuquo, however, alleged that it was the family of the landlord, Louis Osasa that set his son on fire. Disappointed that his suspects were still walking around free, Pastor Asuquo wrote a petition requesting that justice be done and the killer of his son brought to book. According to the petition, the Asuquo family alleged that on March 20, 2015, Cecilia Matthew had a mere argument with Jane Osasa who lives in the same yard and this allegedly resulted in Jane stabbing Cecilia on her forehead with a kitchen knife. “I reported the matter to Ajeromi police station, Ajegunle. And to my utmost surprise, she boasted there, that I have not seen anything yet, that all members of my family will carry everlasting mark on their faces. “Three months after, she attacked my daughter Peace and stabbed her on the neck. That matter was also reported to Ajeromi police station. And after she admitted that she wounded the girl, she was asked to go home by the police. The next attack was on August 8, 2015, when Jane, the same woman stabbed my niece Ruth Daniel who was sent by her mother to my house. I refused to go to Ajeromi police station following previous experience, so I went to report the matter to Area B command, Apapa. CSP Lukas, who was on duty, gave me a letter to the Ajeromi police station the same day, the woman was reluctantly brought to the station on August 11, 2015 and the matter was charged to court. Mr. Sola, the IPO, collected the photographs of the victim and told me that we are going to court the next day.” The DCO assured Asuquo that the woman would remain in the station till the following morning and will go straight to the court from the station. “By 11.30pm the same day, she was released by the same DCO and she stayed away in a nearby compound at number 10, Alafua Street to plan the next dangerous attack on my family. “Before now on August 9, Jane, the husband and uncle came to the church and demanded to see the bishop. The usher refused on the ground that bishop was having seminar with the pastors. “On the day that we were supposed to go to court being August 11, in the early hours, my son, Emmanuel was set on fire by Jane, her husband and uncle. He is my only son, an HND holder in computer science and he was 22 years,” the petition read in parts. Still in police detention, the couple, Mr. and Mrs. Osasa accused of the murder insist that it was nemesis that caught up with the family of Asuquo. Not denying the years of crisis between them and their tenant, Louis told Saturday Sun that he did everything possible to settle any crisis between them whenever it arises. “It all started last year when I gave the entire tenants quit notice. My intentions were to renovate the house and to review the rent. Most of my tenants were owing several years, especially Mr. Asuquo. I guess my decision did not go down well with them and they started fomenting trouble. On March 22, 2015, they clashed with my wife and his wife got wounded in the process. The matter escalated to a point that police were called into the matter. My wife was arrested by the policemen from Ajeromi police station. After several interventions, the matter was settled. All seemed well till August 8, when I received a call from the office that there was an incident at home. I came and discovered that my family had an issue with the Asuquo family again. It was so bad that they called the police into the matter again. Because I am a peace loving person, I contacted the priest to assist me to plead with them.” According to Mr. Louis, they were still in the process of peace making when the fire incident occurred in the early hours of August 11. “We were woken up by the screams of neighbours. They were shouting that the house was on fire. “I ran out and discovered that the room that I was using at the boys quarters was on fire. I was shocked because no one was in the room. While some of us went through the window and started pouring water, I discovered traces of fuel on the floor. While this was going on, no one in the Asuquo family cared to come out of the house to assist us. It was when the fire had been quenched that one of the family members came out and started telling people that we set their son, Emmanuel on fire. Everyone was shocked because they wondered how Emmanuel would suddenly be on fire when no one stepped out of the family when the fire was raging. “When I realised the source of my problem, I alerted the police because it was obvious that Emmanuel was the one who set the house on fire. Nemesis caught up with him. They rushed into the room and were battling to manage the situation. When they discovered that the matter was beyond them, Mr. Asuquo stepped out and started shouting that Emmanuel was set on fire,” Louis alleged. As expected, the police at Ajeromi requested that Emmanuel should be allowed to recover before he would be charged for arson. “We were still waiting for him to recover so that police can investigate the matter properly when we learnt that he died. “I have no reason whatsoever to destroy my property because I wanted to kill or set someone on fire. Neighbours, who raised the alarm can attest that the fire started from inside the room and the trace of fuel showed that someone through the window sprayed fuel inside the house. I never suspected them till I learnt that Emmanuel sustained burns. He was the one that was sent to set the house on fire but almighty God decided to teach them a lesson.” Confirming her husband’s statement at the police station, Jane added that the Asuquo were owing the family four years and six months’ rent. “They are occupying the best position in the compound and no one is complaining about that except that they should pay their rent. They kept looking for my trouble and I cannot stand aside and watch them insult me or my husband. That fateful night, we were sleeping when we heard the screams of neighbours. All through the period that we were battling to put out the fire, no one came out of that house. No one knew that as soon as Emmanuel set himself on fire, he ran into the house. It was when they discovered that they could not put out the fire; their father came out and started shouting that his son was set on fire. It was then that we knew the source of the fire. Why should my husband set his own property ablaze just to get to a tenant? We are innocent, it is almighty God who decided to fight our battle and expose the culprit”, she added. When Saturday Sun visited the compound at 13, Alafua street, Ajegunle, family members and friends of the deceased were seen consoling the Emmanuel Asuquo family. Also visible were youths who showed displeasure at the loss of their friend. However, when Saturday Sun reporters spoke with neighbours, they insisted that their landlord and wife were unjustly detained. They alleged that it was the late Emmanuel that set the house on fire. A resident in the area who gave his name as Timothy John told Saturday Sun that the victim was the architect of his death. According to him, Emmanuel, in an attempt to set the sitting room of his co-tenant on fire through the window was caught up by the fire he ignited with a match and in the process, he was seriously burnt. “It is obvious that Emmanuel caused what killed him because he set the fire in his co-tenant’s sitting room. He did not know that the fire will catch up with him. And, immediately he was caught by the fire, he ran into their house quietly. It was his younger sister that raised the alarm before people came out”, the neighbor alleged. John wondered why Emmanuel could not shout, if at all he was attacked by anyone. “Everyone was wondering why he could not shout, that shows, there was foul play. It was from their room; he was brought out and sent to hospital where he eventually died.” Another resident, Sunday Omokaro explained that there was every tendency that Emmanuel was set ablaze by some group of people. He wondered how someone could set himself on fire. “From every indication, we believe that Emma was killed and eventually brought back to the house. You see, you cannot, totally throw away the fact that people could do something like that. However, after the investigation, the truth will prevail”, he stressed.
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