Mentally ill man arrested for burning grandma to death

The Jigawa State Police Command has arrested 26-year-old Nura Mas’ud, a resident of Mu’azu village of Sule Tankarkar LGA, for allegedly setting his 60-year-old grandmother, Zuwaira Muhammad, ablaze.

PUNCH Metro learnt on Sunday that Mrs Muhammad had repeatedly expressed concern over her grandson’s physical appearance and mental health status, who is said to be mentally unstable.

Mas’ud was said to have been provoked by his grandmother’s frequent inquiries and warned her to stop but she continued.

In a confessional audio clip made available to PUNCH Metro, Mas’ud said he was fed up with his grandmother’s endless inquiries about his health status.
He noted that his decision to set her ablaze using petrol had put to a halt her questioning.
“She frequently asked about my health, and I asked her what was happening to me but she kept mum. That was what informed my decision to pour petrol on her,”  Mas’ud stated.

When contacted, the Jigawa State Police Command’s spokesman, Shiisu Lawan Adam, who confirmed the tragic incident to our correspondent, stated that preliminary investigations revealed that the suspect, who is suffering from mental derangement, has been receiving treatment at the Kazaure Psychiatric Hospital.
“A preliminary investigation revealed that the suspect is suffering from mental illness and has been receiving treatment at the Kazaure Psychiatric Hospital”, Lawan emphasised.

“One Nura Mas’ud, ‘m’, age 26 years of Mu’azu village, Sule Tankarkar LGA, went to his family house with a petrol canister and suddenly poured it on his grandmother, Zuwaira Muhammad, ‘f’, aged 60 years, of the same address, and set her ablaze”,  Lawan said.

According to him, the victim died while receiving treatment at a hospital, adding that the suspect had voluntarily confessed to have committed the offence because of the endless enquiries the victim was making about his life on several occasions.