By Sade Adewale, Ondo
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Liadi Akinfolarin, the father of the children set ablaze by their stepfather, has demanded justice for the dastardly act of the man which claimed the lives of two of his five children.
Akinfolarin, in an interview with The Hope Metro lamented over the heinous act of his ex-wife's husband, Ojo Joseph, who is now cooling his feet in police custody.
In a sorrowful mood, he said, what the man did to his children was in humane because his twins were not affected.
According to him, his wife packed out of their matrimonial house and left the children for him to cater for because of the man that now burnt the children.
Akinfolarin narrated, “I worked on the farm as a tractor driver. The children used to stay with me whenever I did not go to the farm. At times, I  would stay on the farm for three to four days before coming home. And during that period, the children stayed with their mother till I come back from work.
"Most times when I'm back from the farm on Fridays, I would call their mother to tell them I was back. And they would stay in my place till Monday, when they would  go to school. After closing , they would go to their mother till when I will be around. That's how we have been doing it on Friday on Saturday.
"On that fateful Friday, I returned home late from work. So, I couldn't call them because I knew they would come to my place on Saturday.
“But around 4 pm, I received a call from an unknown person, who told me that the house of my former wife's husband was on fire. But I did not answer the person because the woman is no longer my wife.
“My phone rang again around 6pm, and the person said my children wanted to speak with me. I heard my first daughter's voice that our stepfather set us ablaze with petrol and they have been taken to the general hospital in Ondo.
“Immediately I left for the hospital . On getting there, I saw my children writhing in pains. Some were burnt beyond recognition. One first died while the second one died on our way to FMC Owo.
"The one that died first is Tayo, a seven-year-old boy and the second one is Aanu, a nine-year-old girl. Their corpses have been deposited at the morgue.
"The man roasted my children like meat. Now, I'm left with three out of five children. The remaining three, Bisola, Tope and Tobi are at FMC Owo with the support of oxygen.
"I have promised them that after this trip to the farm, I will stop going and look for something else to do so that I can take care of them properly. They only stay with their mother in her husband's house whenever I'm not at home.
“I have five children already; two boys and three girls. So, what am I looking for again? I don't want my children to suffer. That is why I did not remarry, to preventing another woman maltreating them.
The neighbours of Ojo Joseph, confirmed that he set the children ablaze in the house built by his father where they occupy one room at Ayesanmi street in the Odojomu area of Ondo West Local Government.
The Hope Metro further gathered that the children always slept in the passage of the house since the suspect and his wife were occupying one room.
The couple, it was learnt, had been fighting over different issues which the neighbours settled daily before he angrily wet his stepchildren with petrol and set them ablaze.
Narrating, how they initially rescued the victims, a neighbour, Seun Afolayan who hails from ijomu Oro in Kwara State, said, " The children always sleep in front of my room. So, on the fateful day, around 1:00 am, the children started shouting and calling for help.
“I came out, but the fire prevented us from moving closer to them. But after much efforts, we were able to rescue four out of five, while the fifth one burnt to death and later another one died on their way to the hospital.