Police Authorities Absolve Inspector Accused of Burning Wife

In a move considered by many as rather callous, the Lagos State Police Command has not only released the detained Wasiu Jimoh, a police inspector who allegedly set his wife, Augustina, ablaze, he (Jimoh) is back on his bit while his wife still writhes in pain at the hospital.

The couple lived at 7. Tunde Lawal Street, off Kasidi Bus Stop, Seriki, in Okokomaiko area of the state, before the brawl between the couple which resulted in the alleged burning of Augustina.

Inspector Jimoh was alleged to have set his wife ablaze last weekend during a domestic squabble in their kitchen. While the woman said she was set ablaze by the husband, Jimoh maintained that the reverse was the case.

However, according to eyewitness accounts of their neighbours, THISDAY gathered that during the couple’s  quarrelling session, which is frequent, Jimoh beat up the wife and pursued a fleeing Augustina into another neighbour’s kitchen. He retreated, only to re-appear with a gallon of petrol which he poured on her. Due to her proximity to the fire in the kitchen, she  quickly got engulfed in fire.

Then Jimoh got arrested. But it was for a few hours, as he soon got released, same day after police investigation claimed he was the victim. The inspector, who works with the Ifako Police Station, Bariga, maintained that Augustina actually brought in the fuel to the kitchen to pour on him but as fate would have it, ended up burning herself.

When THISDAY visited Leverage Hospital, Igbo-Elerin, Okokomaiko where Augustina was first rushed to by concerned neighbours and police officers, the nurse on duty, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said she was referred to another hospital the next day due to the nature of her wounds, which was described as a second degree burns.

She said: “With the degree of burns she sustained, we only received her to administer first aid treatment and also for the fact that she gave birth to her son in this hospital. You needed to have seen her that first day. Despite the fact that as a nurse I have seen so many things, I shed tears as I beheld the Augustina I know writhing with agony. How can a man inflict this kind of wound on a woman he married with his money?” 

She further debunked the policeman’s claim that the victim poured the fuel on herself during a squabble. Her reasoning: “From the angle of the burns, you can deduce that she could not have poured fuel on herself. Her body was burnt from the chest up. Her hair was burnt as well and kept falling out. Ok, if you insist that she set herself ablaze, how come her hands were burnt too? The fire burnt her hands badly that her fingers were bent and gnarled.

“To show the extent of the fire, her palms were burnt and peeled off. As a nurse, I can tell you that the palm is one of the toughest parts of the skin and for it to peel off, shows the degree of burns. The day she was brought here, she was dripping water so to prevent dehydration, we continuously gave her water and drip.
“Can you imagine, despite all the drips and water we gave to her, she still could not urinate. I believe that the burns might have damaged some internal organs. All I hope is that she survives this ordeal so that she can move on with her life.”

Although the doctor was said to have battled to save her life, the nurse noted that it became imperative  to refer her to another hospital which has the facilities to treat the burns. Accordingly, she said Augustina was transferred to a hospital at Igando but was rejected. She was also taken to another in Ikeja where she was rejected before she was eventually taken to Igbobi Orthopaedic Hospital.

According to reports, the crisis initially started when Augustina confronted her husband about a text message sent to her phone by another woman warning her to leave Jimoh alone. Infuriated, Jimoh was said to have become offended, beating her up in the process.
THISDAY’s visit to the couple’s residence showed that life has returned  to normal in the neighbourhood. Several children were seen in the compound playing and characteristic of children, had apparently forgotten the horror of the previous week.

When THISDAY enquired about the couple’s apartment, some of the brave ones pointed to the flat on the ground floor. However, THISDAY met a locked door and upon further enquiry, a neighbour who did not want his name in print said he was yet to see the inspector since that fateful day. He however admitted that the couple’s only child named Goodluck was still in the house with two of the inspector’s other children and a caregiver.

Narrating what happened, he said they were sleeping when they heard shouts from the couple’s apartment. He noted that they dismissed it as the usual fight between the couple. However on hearing shouts of fire, he said the entire compound opened their doors and rushed out only to behold Augustina in a blaze of fire.
He said: “I cannot say much about what happened because I was not there when the whole fight began but one of the neighbours who witnessed the incident said the inspector had poured fuel on Augustina and locked her up in the kitchen.

“We only rushed and broke into the door to save her life. I do not want to take sides who poured the fuel and who did not but all I know is that everyone knows the inspector as a cantankerous person. We all avoid him if we can.”

He admitted that the inspector’s cantankerous nature had seen him through five wives consecutively and still counting. According to him, the four other wives had fled from his brutality leaving behind their children.
When contacted, the state Police Spokesman, Joseph Jaiyeoba, a superintendent of police, said the case was the other way round. According to him, the woman was trying to pour fuel on the husband but ended up harming herself. He said: “Contrary to what people have been peddling about, the story is the reverse.  The woman was carrying petrol to kill her husband but unfortunately, she went into the kitchen with it got burnt.  The man ran out of the house and that is the true story.”

In the eventuality that the policeman is proven guilty, Jaiyeoba said no man or police officer is above the law of the society. He said: “No police officer is above the law and if at the end of the day, Jimoh is found guilty, he will surely go in for it, because the law is no respecter of persons.” And this is coming after he has concluded that the man is innocent of the allegations. What will the investigation show?