A woman identified as Mbalumen Ikyenge has been apprehended for allegedly setting ablaze the house of her boyfriend, Aondoyima Ierkwagh, leading to the death of his two daughters in Zaki-Biam, Ukum Local Government Area of Benue State.
The Benue State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Udeme Edet, confirmed the incident via a statement issued on Tuesday, July 7, 2026.
Edet said the command received a report from Ierkwagh alleging that a woman set his house on fire.
Edet said: “I don’t really know if it was a lovers’ quarrel that resulted in the act, but the report we got from the father of the girls was that someone set his house on fire.
“Neighbours tried to rescue the girls aged four and six years by rushing them to the hospital but they died while receiving treatment.”
The police spokesperson said a suspect, identified as Mbalumen Ikyenge, had been arrested, adding that an investigation into the incident had commenced.
However, some eyewitnesses alleged that the incident stemmed from a relationship dispute.
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The witnesses, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the suspect visited the residence of her boyfriend, Ierkwagh, on Sunday night but was asked to leave.
The witnesses said she refused to leave after suspecting that another woman was with her boyfriend in the house.
The witnesses further claimed that Ierkwagh had locked his two daughters in a separate round hut before retiring to another hut.
They revealed that the suspect set the hut ablaze in the midnight, believing another woman was inside, but the fire engulfed the structure where the two girls were sleeping.
Neighbours were said to have rescued the children and rushed them to the hospital, where they later died from severe burns.
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