A 25-year-old man, Salisu Idris has been arrested in Kano for allegedly setting a house ablaze, killing three occupants who were believed to be members of the same family.
The suspect confessed to police interrogators in Kano that he was hired with N200,000 to commit the arson.
The incident occurred on Wednesday at Gayawa Tsohuwa village, Ungogo local government area of the state.
Police Public Relations Officer of the command, DSP Abdullahi Haruna Kiyawa who confirmed the arrest said the victims included a couple, with the wife pregnant and their 2-year-old daughter.
“On Wednesday around 3 am, we received a report of a strange fire incident from Gayawa Tsohuwa in Ungogo local government area which we promised to investigate.
“After the incident, the command’s commissioner of police Ahmed lliyasu, raised all the tactical units, the area commander of the metro division and the DPO of Zango division and he gave them 24hours to produce the perpetrators of the heinous act. They immediately swung into action.
“Using our community policing strategies we were able to trace, track and arrest one person by name salisu Idris at Mijinbir town, where he went to take cover at the local government area.
“We traced him and arrested him with severe burns he sustained in his body. We interrogated him and we found out that they were two that carried out the dastardly act and the other one is at large and very soon we’ll get him.
The suspect confessed that he was hired on a promise of N200, 000 to carry out the act.
Idris who was a mobile phone seller at Farm Centre said he wanted to use the money to enrol into the Yusuf Maitama Sule University Kano.
“A friend of mine asked me to accompany him to the house. He asked me to come along with him that at the end of the operation he will give me N200, 000. We came around 2 pm. And when we came we both climbed unto the building with petrol and immediately the fire was ignited I got caught up and burnt my hands and legs” he confessed.
He said on getting home, overwhelmed with pains from burns, he lied to his grandfather that he sustained the injuries in a fire incident at Mai Shayi joint.
Idris said he was taken to a clinic in the community from where he was referred to the hospital at Minjibir from where he was traced and arrested by the police.
