Ogun: Woman sets self ablaze over N70, 000 debt

A woman has reportedly set herself on fire in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, over her inability to pay back a N70,000 loan she obtained from a microfinance bank.

The woman, identified as Mama Dada, burnt herself and her rented apartment at Oke-Keesi, Itoko area of Abeokuta.

She reportedly killed herself to avoid the embarrassment that would befall her due to her inability to repay the N70,000 loan.

The deceased, was said to have sent her last born to buy her fuel, locked herself up after the boy was asked to go out, wet everywhere with petrol including herself and set the whole place on fire over the weekend.

Her corpse had been deposited at the State General Hospital, Ijaye, Abeokuta.

Reacting to the incident, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) senatorial candidate in Ogun Central, Olumide Aderinokun, expressed sadness over the incident.

Aderinokun described the action of the deceased as tragic as he lamented the hardship women have endured with the loan scheme.

Reports state that many traders in Ogun State had resorted to seeking help from usurers due to poverty.

With the nation’s poor economy, the majority of the borrowers default in the repayment plans and are subjected to very humiliating treatments, including being arrested and locked up in toilets.