A manhunt has been launched by the Ogun State Police Command for a man who allegedly set a 40-year-old lover he met on Facebook ablaze.
An affair involving a single mother and a man she met on Facebook has ended in tragedy.
Folakemi Akorede, a mother of one, died two days after she was set ablaze by her live-in lover, Olayemi Ojo, after an altercation.
Sources close to the two lovebirds said their relationship began about four years ago when the deceased woman met Ojo on Facebook and they exchanged phone contacts and shared conversations on Facebook Messenger.
At the time, according to sources, Ojo, who was based in Italy, kick-started a sizzling relationship with Folakemi and sent her several gift items.
An insider who confided in our correspondent revealed that Ojo even paid for new accommodation for Folakemi in a bid to make her comfortable.
It was gathered that Ojo returned to Nigeria on December 21, 2020 and moved in with Folakemi at her new residence at No 11 Alawonle Street, Ojo Ade area, off Dalemo Egbado Road, Alakuko, Ifo Local Government Area, Ogun State.
Trouble, however, started when Ojo allegedly discovered that some family members he was sending money to help him build his personal house had played a prank on him.
Ojo was said to have been miffed that Folakemi did not help him monitor the people he paid to build the house. The matter was said to have degenerated into a row, following which Folakemi, populary called Mummy Favour, left the house for about one week.
The row however took a tragic turn on February 9, 2021 when she returned home thinking that Ojo’s anger would have subsided. But while the deceased woman was seated on a chair in the living room, Ojo, who was said to have pretended that he was no longer angry with her, allegedly poured petrol on her from behind and set her ablaze before she could rush out of their apartment.
Ojo, who is now on the run, allegedly took Folakemi’s mobile phone with him before he vanished into the air.
Folakemi, a 40-year-old native of Ado-Ekiti, was rushed by neighbours to a public hospital where she allegedly died two days later from the severe burns she received from the incident.
Sources at the residence of the deceased said they were shocked at the gruesome killing of the woman they described as friendly.
A neighbour who spoke in confidence said: “It happened that she had been dating a man called Ojo Oluyemi since about four years ago. They met on Facebook, because at that time, Ojo was living in Italy.
“They met and started their affair on the internet. The man paid the rent for the apartment where the woman was staying
“On December 21 last year, the man came to Nigeria and stayed with the woman. The man was said to have sprinkled petrol on her and set her ablaze.
“After the incident, the man ran away with the mobile phone of the single mother.
“Mummy Favour was a very warm person. She went about her life without any friction with neighbours. It was quite shocking that such fate would befall her.”
Another source said the affair between the duo had been tempestuous before the suspect arrived in the country about four months ago.
Some friends of the deceased were said to have warned her against continuing with the relationship because of Ojo’s penchant for getting angry unnecessarily.
One of them said: “Mummy Favour (deceased) complained of being emotionally hurt and insulted by the man and this went on for some time.
“At times, they would not even talk for weeks because of what the deceased described as Ojo’s recalcitrant attitude towards her.
“She, however, continued with the relationship each time the man pacified her, most times with gifts.
“She was friendly with people and his son too. We were speechless when she shouted for help after her lover set fire to her body and fled from the apartment.”
A neighbour identified simply as Wale described the woman’s last days as harrowing.
Recalling Folakemi’s last moments, he said: “She reclined in her hospital bed with tears and regretted continuing with the relationship against the advice of her close friends and family members.
“She was led on by the thought that the relationship compensated for the previous one that hit the rock, not knowing that she would be gruesomely killed by a man she fell in love with on Facebook.”
It was said that Folakemi’s body has since been deposited at a public morgue, pending police clearance for her interment.
“We attended the same church. The pastor and some elders are awaiting police permission to pick her body from the mortuary for proper burial, possibly in a few days from now,” Wale added.
It was learnt that the incident was reported at the Agbado Police Division.
Contacted, the spokesman of Ogun State Police Command, Mr Abimbola Oyeyemi, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), said the command was on the trail of the suspect.
“The story is true,” Oyeyemi said.
“It’s a gruesome attack on a woman by her live-in lover at their residence. The man is not actually the woman’s husband; they were just live-in lovers.
“It happened that the woman, called Folakemi, was previously married to a man for whom she had a son. She had issues with her marriage and separated from her husband, following which she befriended this man (Ojo) and moved in with him.
“She had a misunderstanding with the man and the man set her ablaze. She was rushed to a hospital where she later died.
“The man, who is the suspect, is now on the run and the police are seriously looking for him.
“We are on his trail and intensifying efforts to arrest him and make him face the wrath of the law for his crime.
“I can assure you that efforts are in top gear to arrest the suspect who has committed this heinous crime by setting his lover ablaze.”
Oyeyemi said the body of the late woman would be released for burial at the conclusion of ongoing investigations, including an autopsy.
“The body of the woman is still at the mortuary. We shall release the body to his family for burial at the completion of ongoing investigations, including an autopsy that will be carried out on her body because of the nature of her death,” he said.
