18-year-old girl sets mother, one other ablaze over detergent in Benue

There seems to be no end to calamities befalling Makurdi, the Benue State capital as an 18-year-old girl, Winifred Ngutesen Ingyaji from Ute-Tse-Kpun, Vandeikya local government of Benue State again burnt her mother, late Mrs Mbachirin Ashiekaa from Mbaduku, Vandeikya LGA to death with boiled water. Her sister in-law, Mrs Jennifer Betsee was also burnt in the process and she is currently receiving treatment at Bishop Murray Hospital Makurdi.

Recall that few weeks ago, a similar scenario occurred in Makurdi as a 17-year-old girl identified as Esther Alex from Ado local government of Benue state also burnt her boyfriend, Chidinma Omah to death with petrol on the suspicion that he was abandoning her to marry another girl.

The latest incident which happened on Monday at 3:30pm, first February, 2021 at a compound near St. Joseph Catholic Church, Innyongun, Wadata Makurdi, started like a minor altercation between Winifred and her brother’s wife, Jennifer.

An eyewitness from same compound who wouldn’t want her name mentioned said, she was there when the quarrel started till the end, adding that she never anticipated that it degenerated to this dangerous level.

According to her, Jennifer bought a detergent(omo) to wash her 3-week-old baby’s wears before bathing her with the water she was boiling due to harmattan.

But Jennifer never knew that Winifred had already used it until when she attempted to make use of it to was her baby’s clothes.

An altercation ensued when Jennifer angrily asked Winifred why she used the detergent without permission. But Winifred said she didn’t use it for any other thing than to wash the kettle that all of them have been using. As the quarrel continued, Winifred said “to hell with Jennifer”. Jennifer became more furious and insulted Winifred back. Winifred under emotional reaction, then took the water Jennifer was boiling to bath her little baby and poured on Jennifer.

Winifred’s mother, late Mrs Mbachirin met her death when she attempted stopping her daughter from pouring more boiled water on Jennifer as the water mistakenly poured on her right hand shoulder. She died few minutes as she was being conveyed to Bishop Murray Hospital Makurdi.

Corroborating the story by the eyewitness, late Mrs Mbachirin’s nephew, Mr Ate Agber said; “while I was in an examination hall at BSU few minutes to my exam, I received a call from an unknown number that there was an ongoing quarrel in my compound and that I should come back home quickly but I couldn’t go immediately because of my examination”.

“As I was coming home few minutes after completing my paper, I met one of my sisters along Vandeikya street, close to Bishop Murray Hospital, crying that “Winifred has killed mummy”. I went close and saw a lifeless body of my aunt in a parked vehicle”, he said.

Confirming the unfortunate incident, an elder brother to the deceased, Mr Ate Akuva said, he was in the village that fateful day when he received a call around 4:30pm that his sister, Mbachirin was no more as she was burnt to death by her her daughter, Winifred and he had to leave everything he was doing in order to rush to Makurdi.

He said he came to Makurdi and has deposited her corpse in the mortuary at Bishop Murray Hospital Makurdi.

As at the time of filing this report, Winifred was being held at D Division opposite NUJ House, Modern Market road Makurdi while the burnt Mrs Jennifer was receiving medical treatment at Bishop Murray Hospital, High Level Makurdi.