BySunmola Olowookere
|
This is the story of a man whose house was razed down in our neighbourhood by suspected arsonists. It was later discovered that some of his apprentices that were disgruntled had committed the dastard act.
For weeks, the poor man was traumatized by the incident and he had to sleep at a neighbour’s house for some weeks before making some makeshift apartment among the debris left of the bungalow.
It was an experience that the family and the neighbours would not forget in a hurry.
The house including the furniture and other properties in the house were consumed by the raging inferno about an hour after the fire started.
All that were left of a well furnished apartment were smouldering debris with the roofing sheets strewn all over the ground.
All efforts made by residents to quench the fire were futile as it continued unabated.
Although, men of the fire service curtailed the fire from spreading to other buildings nearby, the building itself was razed to the ground and the walls stood in clumps as it broke into segments.
The owner of the building along with his wife were beside themselves with grief and tried to go into the smouldering building but they were held down by their well meaning neighbours.
The landlord had his suspicions as he explained to friends that visited him that there was no light so it could not have been an electrical fault.
The neighbours saw two boys jumped into the building over the fence.
The boys had used fuel to wet the house and they had also discovered a “strange looking keg” at his backyard.
The neighbours tried to douse the fire, it kept spreading uncontrollably which made them to realize that fuel was poured on the house.
Nothing was salvaged from the fire as they all got consumed which included his cargo of articles which he kept in the ware house.
As fate would have it, when his neighbours pursued the two boys that were caught jumping out of the back window, their bags fell to the ground and two phones were recovered from inside the bag.
As the grapevine has it, the two boys had been caught although they kept it hush-hush then. It was later realized that they were two of his sales boys that he sent packing over stealing and bad behaviours.
Police began their investigation and the two boys were changed to court.
However, a mild drama ensued at the Akure Magistrates’ Court when the two sales boys tried to escape from the court.
The sales boys; Samuel Benjamin, 19, and Emmanuel Abraham,18, who were ordered to be remanded by the court took to their heels immediately after the Magistrate’s pronouncement out of fear and apprehension.
It took the intervention of police officers at the court premises to apprehend the culprits.
The duo were said to have escaped through the court window and fled to a nearby bush.
One of the accused persons was caught in the bush while the other was caught around NEPA area in Akure.
The duo are facing six-count charge bordering on break-in, entry, burglary, stealing and arson.
The two boys were not represented by any lawyer and they told the court that they were not guilty of the crime they were accused of.
The Magistrate denied them bail and ordered their remand at Akure Correctional Centre.
Probably, attempt to commit abscondment from lawful custody will be added to their crimes.
