Adjohoun: a mother and her daughter perish in a suspected arson

Two women, a mother and her daughter, died in a fire that occurred on the night of Saturday 2 to Sunday 3 August, in Adjohoun, in the Ouémé department. Initial findings suggest a criminal act, against a backdrop of family tension related to a land dispute.

According to information gathered on-site by Bénin News, the main suspect would be the victim’s son, recently recovered from a serious illness. According to matching eyewitness accounts, a dispute had arisen between the latter and his mother, who had sold part of the family land to cover necessary medical expenses for his recovery. A decision that the person in question would have taken badly, after his convalescence.

Still according to the initial elements of the investigation, the young man would have expressed the intention to sell the rest of the plot. A project his mother would have opposed, intensifying the tensions within the family.

On the night of the tragedy, the individual allegedly broke into the room where his mother and sister were sleeping, carrying a can of gasoline. After spraying their mosquito net, he reportedly set it on fire, causing an inferno that proved fatal for them.

By the time emergency services arrived, the two victims had already died. An investigation has been opened by judicial authorities to determine the exact circumstances of this act and establish responsibility.