Babatola, who is being detained by the
FCT Special Anti-Robbery Squad, identified his victims as Janet Isuawa;
her sons, Samuel and Osaze; her cousin, Taphael; and Janet’s mother. Babatola, a mobile phone technician,
stated that he had wanted to commit suicide after setting the family on
fire, but was dissuaded by his younger brother, James, who asked him to
report the incident to the police. Explaining what led to the tragedy, the
suspect said he started dating Janet, a divorcee, sometime ago, adding
that he supported her and the children financially. According to him, the relationship
developed problems after he demanded sex, noting that each time he asked
for sex, Janet would turn him down and taunt him. Babatola said matters came to a head on
April 12 when Janet informed him that his mother had told her that he
suffered from hernia and therefore could not date him. He said, “Janet said my mother told her that I suffer from hernia, and that she could not date me; she called me a ‘mugu’ (fool), and said she had chopped my money. So, I went to where she was charging the phone I bought for her and took it.“She attacked me and bit my chest, and
as I struggled to free myself from her grip, her cousin, Taphael, came
in and pushed me down and held me there while she beat me with her
fists. After I left the house, Janet’s younger sister called me on the
telephone and abused me, saying they would deal with me if I come to the
house again.” Babatola stated that he moved to an area
called Arab Road in Bwari, where he stayed with a friend, adding that
he kept getting telephone calls from Janet’s sister, who said he would
be dealt with if he went back to the house. “On the night of April 15, around 11pm, I
went to the house and found that the gate was locked. I scaled the
fence into the compound. I went towards Janet’s room and saw her
sleeping, as the window was opened because there was no power supply. I
went to the bathroom, where she kept a gallon of fuel and poured it into
the room through the window; the room caught fire from a lighted
lantern,” he said. He further explained that he headed for the nearby bush to kill himself after coming to his senses. “I headed for the bush to hang myself,
but my phone suddenly rang and my brother told me that our house just
got burnt; I told him I did it and that I was about to commit suicide.
He said I should not, and persuaded me to report to the police,”
Babatola added. The technician said every night, he
remembered how he used to relate with Janet’s two sons, noting that he
had not been able to erase their memories from his mind. “I can’t get them off my mind, they
haunt me every time; I thought it was only Janet that was in the room, I
didn’t know the children were there. I thought they had gone for a
vigil with their grandmother who attended vigil every Thursday,” he
said. A senior police officer said Babatola
did not know that he had killed all the family members, until he saw
their charred corpses the next morning.
