An unidentified man allegedly killed his eight-year-old son in the Epe area of Lagos State over a misplaced sewing thread that belonged to him.
PUNCH Metro gathered on Tuesday that the incident occurred around 10:00 a.m. on August 5, when the father was about to use his sewing thread.
Upon discovering that the minor had misplaced his sewing thread, the suspect allegedly became enraged and doused the child with Premium Motor Spirit, commonly known as petrol.
Seeing the adverse effects of his action on the boy, who reportedly began vomiting white substances, the suspect attempted to ease the pain by offering him some palm oil to drink.
Despite consuming the palm oil, PUNCH Metro learnt that the boy lost consciousness, and residents rushed him to a hospital in the area for medical treatment.
However, he was said to have been pronounced dead less than two hours after the incident, according to some witnesses.
In a viral video seen by PUNCH Metro on Tuesday, the suspect is shown kneeling before police officers and residents, answering questions why he committed the crime.
Although his response was unclear due to the poor audio quality in the clip, an eyewitness in the short viral video mentioned that foam was coming out of the deceased child’s nose and mouth.
When reached on Monday, the state police command spokesperson, Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed the incident and stated that the suspect had been arrested on charges of alleged murder.
He said, “A report was filed on August 5, 2024, alleging that a father poured petrol on his son’s face and pushed him after the boy misplaced his sewing thread.
“The boy lost consciousness, and his sister gave him palm oil. After consuming it, he began vomiting, and he was subsequently rushed to the hospital.
“The doctors on duty confirmed him as being brought in dead. His body has been taken to a general hospital in Lagos for an autopsy. The suspect will be transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department in Yaba for further investigation.”
A similar incident occurred earlier in July when a man identified only as Olumide allegedly beat his 19-year-old son, known as Adeyemi, to death with a shovel for an undisclosed offence.
The suspect was arrested, and the command announced that it had initiated an investigation into the death.
