A Pastor of the New Baptist Church and his female assistant have allegedly been burnt to death by a 40-year-old jealous lover, identified as Etifa Obukulubu, in Igbogene area of Yenagoa Local Government Area, Bayelsa State.
The pastor and his female assistant were burnt to death about 3am on Saturday after Obukulubu set the home of his girlfriend on fire over suspicion of cheating.
The incident led to pandemonium in the area as attempt to rescue those inside the building failed due to the exit door out of the house was jammed from outside.
It was gathered the targeted girlfriend, identified as Wilberforce, allegedly vacated her home for the deceased pastor and his assistant, who reportedly came from outside the state on an evangelical mission.
Residents of the community said the suspect (Obukulubu), who is a commercial driver, had waited for his girlfriend to come home, “but on sighting her with a man and another girl, he got angry and set the home ablaze.”
“He (suspect) waited for them to enter the house and used fuel to set fire round the house. But he did not know that his girlfriend had left the house to go and sleep with another friend,” a resident said.
Another resident, who described the suspect as a loner, said the incident shocked everyone in the area. He claimed the lovers were staying three houses away and no one suspected they were dating.
“It is unfortunate that the pastor and his assistant died in the fire. I was told the pastor was invited to preach in Yenagoa and the suspect’s girlfriend offered her home for them to sleep so that they would leave early the following day,” he added.
When contacted, the spokesman for the Bayelsa Police Command, Asinim Butswat, confirmed the incident and said investigation was on.