A middle-aged man, identified as Baby Face, has died in a fire incident in his house in the Oyigbo Local Government Area of Rivers State.
The body of his yet-to-be-identified lover was also recovered from the house.
It was gathered that Baby Face invited his lover to his house at Kom Kom, a densely populated area in Oyigbo, on the outskirts of Port Harcourt at the weekend, when the incident occurred.
A source said the man later interrogated his girlfriend over an alleged affair she had with another man, which led to an argument between the lovers.
The eyewitness, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Baby Face later strangled the woman.
The source said, “After killing the girl, he set his apartment ablaze as a way to cover his track, but was caught up in the inferno. He was burnt to death with the girl’s corpse inside the house.”
He said the incident caused panic in the neighbourhood, as residents deserted the area for fear of being arrested by the police.
The spokesperson for the police in the state, Grace Iringe-Koko, a Superintendent of Police, however, said it was a fire incident.
“The girl died and the man was taken to a hospital where he was receiving treatment, but later died.
“We (police) have launched an investigation into the incident to find out what really happened. We will make our findings public,” she added.