Man burnt to death in Edo inferno

A man believed to be in his late 50s and identified as Kayode Akerele, popularly called Americana, has been killed in a midnight fire that gutted his residence on Monday in Igarra, in the Akoko-Edo Local Government Area of Edo State.

The building also houses the Akoko-Edo secretariat of the Peoples Democratic Party.

The intervention of neighbors was said to have saved the front part of the building from being burnt.

A member of the victim’s family told PUNCH Metro on Tuesday that the fire was from a candle the deceased lit in his room.

He said, “A neighbour said he saw him buy a candle. He lit the candle and slept off. The candle burnt into the rug, inflamed the ceiling and in the process, the ceiling collapsed on him. He must have been deep asleep as he might have suffocated to death.

“To avoid prying eyes and pictures of the deceased surfacing on social media, the family decided to bury him immediately. He was among those who graduated into the Igarra community elders’ council in 2018.”