A 50-year-old man, identified as Ojo Ogundeji, has reportedly died after he set himself on fire inside his father’s house in Ondo town, Ondo State.
Reports say that Ogundeji locked himself in the house before setting it ablaze.
The reason for his committing suicide is yet to be known, but neighbours were quoted for saying the man may have been suffering from depression.
A source said the man, who just returned from Lagos after the Christmas and New Year festivities had attempted suicide but was stopped by neighbours. He however set himself on fire killing himself when everyone had gone out and he was alone.
The source said, “He was rescued by neighbours on the street and rushed to the hospital but he later gave up the ghost.”
Amember of the man’s family Sabaina Ogundeji said Ojo had started a fire under the staircase of the house in the morning of the fateful day and said nobody should put it off. But the people on the street put out the fire.She said, “In the evening, everybody was outside and so, Ojo went in and brought out his clothes and set them on fire.
“He later went inside, locked himself in the room, and set it on fire. It was his voice we heard when he was shouting. People ran there to force the door open and brought him out. But he later died in the hospital.”
It was gathered that the remains of the deceased had been deposited at the morgue in the state hospital Ondo.
The Public Relations Officer of the state police command, Mrs Funmilayo Odunlami, could not however, confirm the incident as she said she had not been briefed.
