Five children were last week killed after their home caught fire in Abagbo Village, Takwa Bay Island, Lagos, the Police said on Sunday.
The children identified as Folake Ogundiya, 13, and her eight-year-old sibling, Abigail; six-year-old Daniel Bakare; Chidima Achomye, two-year-old Nnamdi Achomye and a-year-old Khadijat were said to have been burnt beyond recognition in the incident that occurred Tuesday evening.
According to a statement released Sunday afternoon by police spokesman Bala Elkana, a Deputy Superintendent (DSP), the children were locked inside the house by one Suliat, in whose care their mother Florence Asoye left them.
Elkana said Asoye reported the incident around 10:30am on Wednesday, adding that the said Suliat was nowhere to be found.
“The five children are from the same family. The woman said she left them in the care of the said Suliat around 6:30pm so she could go to Takwa Bay Jetty.
“She said by the time she came back, her home was completely burnt down and the said Suliat locked them in the room and left to unknown destination. The case is under investigation,” he said.
Similarly, Elkana said the command was investigating the death of a female lodger in Southbound Hotel, Morogbo.
The
female identified as Jessica, was found dead in the hotel around 2pm on
Friday with marks suggestive of strangulation and visible blood stains.
Elkana said the police received information about a dead lodger and homicide detectives visited the scene and evacuated the body.
“Homicide detectives visited the scene. Corpse of the deceased person was found on the bed facing up, with swollen face and foam-like fluid out of her mouth. Her throat was knotted with clothes suggesting that she might have been strangled. “There were blood stains all over the place. The corpse was evacuated to mortuary for autopsy while the scene was preserved for forensic analysis.
“The Commissioner of Police Zubairu Muazu has ordered the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (SCIID) Yaba to take over the investigation,” he said.
