Bauchi woman sets herself ablaze at Tafawa Balewa’s family house

The Bauchi State Police Command has confirmed the death of a middle-aged woman who set herself ablaze inside the family house of Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, Nigeria’s late Prime Minister.

Mohammed Ahmed Wakil, Police Public Relations Officer, said the incident occurred on September 26 at about 11:05 a.m.

According to Wakil, the woman arrived at the residence in a commercial tricycle, carrying a gallon of petrol.

She reportedly asked to see Yelwa Abubakar Balewa, one of the late Prime Minister’s daughters. On being told she was not at home, the woman poured petrol on herself and lit a match.

“On the 26th of September, at about 11:05 a.m., an unidentified woman, who is now deceased, went to the family house of late Prime Minister Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa.

“After being told the person she sought was not at home, she brought out a gallon of petrol and set herself ablaze,” Wakil said.

He added that police officers rescued her alive and rushed her to the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital (ATBUTH), where she was admitted.

“Police also recorded her statement during interrogation, before she died,” he said.

In her statement, the woman claimed she did not know the liquid she carried was petrol, insisting she thought it was water. Investigations later revealed that she had a history of mental illness.

The Commissioner of Police, Sani-Omolori Aliyu, has ordered a discreet investigation into the matter.

The woman’s body has since been released to her family for burial. The Bauchi Police Command expressed its condolences, praying for the family’s strength to bear the loss.