My mother asked me to set neighbour’s house ablaze after he went to church, 41-yr-old man tells police

A man who set the house of his neighbour ablaze when the man was attending a church service has told men of the Cross River State Police Command that he was instructed by his 61-year-old mother to carry out the act.

The 41-year-old man, whose name was given as Bassey Ekpo, was arrested after setting fire to the house at 8 Miles, Calabar, the state capital.

Spokesman of the command, ASP Sunday Eitokpah, in a statement on Saturday regarding the arson, said the incident was reported at the Ikpa Omin Divisional Headquarters by the owner of the house, Ekemini Stephen.

Stephen told police operatives that he was in church attending a service when he received a telephone call from another neighbour, who informed him that his house had been set ablaze.

According to him, the other neighbours subsequently apprehended the man after carrying out the act and handed him over to the police.

It was gathered that when he was asked why he set the house ablaze, he was said to have told the operatives that his 61-year-old mother asked him to carry out the act.

The command’s spokesman added that the mother, whose identity was not disclosed, is currently at large and was being hunted by the police in connection with the investigation.

The police spokesman said that police operatives had visited the scene and taken photographs as part of efforts to establish the circumstances surrounding the incident.

He said that investigation was ongoing to determine the involvement of all persons connected with the alleged arson.