Men of the Ogun State Police Command have arrested a 43-year-old man, Hassan Yusuf, for allegedly setting ablaze the apartment of his ex-lover, Busayo Falola.

The suspect reportedly burnt down the building on 127, Old Scholar Palace, Igan Road, Ago-Iwoye, in the Ijebu-North Local Government Area of the state to protest the ex-lover’s refusal to reconcile with him.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, SP Abimbola Oyeyemi, in a statement on Saturday, said the suspect was arrested following a report lodged at the Ago Iwoye divisional headquarters by the 62-year-old landlady of the house, Adejoke Salau.

The PPRO said the landlady reported that she heard a noise from her compound around 1.15am on Tuesday, and when she came out, she discovered that the building was on fire while the tenants were trapped.

“She stated further that it was the quick intervention of neighbours that led to the rescue of the three tenants, but the house got burnt completely.

“Upon the report, the DPO, Ago Iwoye, CSP Noah Adekanye, led his men to the scene from where the occupants of the house were invited to the station for interrogation in order to know the possible cause of the inferno.

“On interrogation, one of the tenants, Falola Busayo, informed the police that she saw her ex-lover, Yusuf Hassan, at the back of her window around 12.30am that fateful day.

“She explained further that she was scared to see him at that hour, which made her to scream and run out of her room to the room of another tenant.

“This made other tenants come out in order to check what Yusuf was up to, only for them to discover flame coming out from Busayo’s room.

“Upon the information, Yusuf Hassan was hunted and apprehended.

“He initially denied knowing anything about the incident, but when the DPO ordered detectives to go to his house and find out whether he was at home at the time of the incident, he decided to open up and confess being the person who set the house ablaze.

“He confessed further that he intended to burn his ex-lover in her apartment because he had tried his possible best to reconcile with her all to no avail, and that was the reason he bought N500 petrol, poured it into her room through the window and set it on fire,” the police spokesman added.

Oyeyemi said the state Commissioner of Police, Frank Mba, had directed that the suspect be transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department for further investigation and possible prosecution.