By Sophia Afolabi
A man has been arrested after a family house was razed by fire in Umueze Orogwe, Owerri West Local Government Area of Imo State, sparking tension and conflicting accounts among family members.
The building, said to comprise six rooms and a parlour, was completely razed, leaving the occupants with no salvaged property.
Members of the affected family said they were taken by surprise when the building suddenly caught fire. One of them, Uche Duru, described the incident as tragic, saying the family could not immediately explain how the fire started.
A representative from Coastreportersnews, who visited the scene shortly after the incident, observed that the structure was completely burnt, with no property salvaged.
The prime suspect, Cyril Duru, 68, denied setting the house on fire. Speaking briefly to journalists, he accused his late brother’s wife, Maritha Chiayalam Duru, and her children of ignoring repeated warnings against using a gas cooker inside the house.
Mr Duru was later arrested by the police for questioning as investigations commenced.
However, Mrs Maritha Chiayalam Duru (née Ucheka) rejected the allegation, accusing her late husband’s brother of repeatedly threatening to kill her and her children, as well as burn down the house.
She alleged that on the night before the incident, she saw Mr Duru holding a bottle containing petrol, which he reportedly claimed was kerosene. According to her, they later woke up to discover that the entire building was on fire, destroying all their belongings.
In previous interactions with journalists, Mr Duru said his late brother had refused to relocate to a portion of land allocated to him by the family. He said he had accommodated the widow and her three sons for many years but later became unhappy with what he described as their prolonged stay.
Mrs Chiayalam Duru and her children, however, maintained that the building was a joint family project executed through collective contributions. They said there had been peace in the household until recent years, when Mr Duru allegedly began threatening to demolish the house in order to sell the land.
In a separate chat with Coastreportersnews, Mr Duru acknowledged that his late brother and sister-in-law contributed financially to the construction of the house, particularly by providing funds for the roofing and ceiling. He added that he personally purchased the cement and moulded the blocks used for the building.
Meanwhile, police authorities in the area said investigations are ongoing, as the community awaits an official report to determine the cause of the fire.
