A 28-year-old woman, Firdausi Musa, and her two young children sustained severe burns after her co-wife, Maryam Muhammad, allegedly doused them with petrol and set them ablaze in the Hotoro area of Kano metropolis.
The incident, which occurred late Monday night at Mai Allo area of Hotoro quarters, has thrown residents into shock, with the suspect currently in police custody at the Mariri Police Division.
The victims, identified as Khadija Ya’u, 7, and Ismail Ya’u, 3, are receiving treatment alongside their mother at the National Orthopaedic Hospital, Dala, and Murtala Muhammad Specialist Hospital, Kano, respectively.
Their father, Malam Saminu, who reportedly sustained burns while trying to rescue them from the fire, is also undergoing treatment.
Speaking to Daily Trust, a younger brother to Firdausi, Buhari Musa Sa’ad, said the family received a distress call around 3am informing them that his sister, her husband and the two children had been set ablaze by her co-wife.
According to him, Firdausi had not spent up to two weeks in the matrimonial home before the incident happened.
“She is around 28 years old. The children who got burned are the ones she brought with her from her previous marriage. They are stepchildren to the husband, who works as a tricycle rider,” he added.
A relative of the victim, Rukayya, said that Firdausi had earlier complained of threats and intimidation from the co-wife before the attack.
“We were lying down here when she was brought in, and she told us herself that it was her co-wife who poured petrol on her and lit a match,” she said.
Rukayya disclosed that the victim had to leave the house earlier that day because of repeated threats, but later returned after intervention by her husband.
Efforts to get the reaction of the Kano State Police Command were unsuccessful at the time of filing this report.
