A mentally challenged lady, yesterday, set a two-storey building on fire in Enugu.
Though no life was lost in the fire, the incident, which happened at Bigard Seminary Avenue by Hassan Lane Uwani, Enugu, properties worth millions of naira were destroyed.
The Guardian gathered that the 39-year-old lady broke loose, following attempts by her family members to forcefully move her to a psychiatrist hospital for treatment.
She was said to have mounted a resistance and violently went for a gallon of fuel in the house, which she used to set the building on fire.
When The Guardian visited the scene of the incident, residents were seen scampering to safety.
It was learnt that the fire affected the last floor of the building and would have spread to the entire building and adjoining buildings, but for the alarm raised by the residents and quick intervention of the State Fire Service.
The lady’s mental state allegedly broke down since 2017, and was said to have gone berserk when her parents attempted to send her to a psychiatric hospital in Enugu.
It was gathered that the lady, who lived with her parents at the last floor of the two-storey building, started causing trouble lately, a development that forced her parents to invite policemen to help take her to hospital.
One of the tenants said trouble started when the parents invited some policemen to help bring the lady down from their flat to a psychiatric hospital.
“But when the policemen came early this morning, and the lady noticed that she was about to be taken away, she took the gallon containing fuel and poured the contents everywhere.
“When the policemen climbed up the building, the lady lit up the place. Her parents, who were coming up with the policemen, all ran for their lives,” he said.
He said the lady was later rescued from the flames and taken to the Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital Enugu.
The Chief Fire Officer, Enugu State Fire and Emergency Service, Okwudili Ohaa, who confirmed the incident, said fire fighters fought gallantly to quench the fire when they got to the scene.