Wife Denies Setting Soldier Husband Ablaze, Says It Was A Tragic Accident

Mrs. Retyit Haruna, the woman at the center of viral social media reports accusing her of setting her soldier husband on fire, has denied the allegations, insisting that the tragic incident was accidental.

Earlier reports had alleged that Mrs. Haruna poured petrol on her husband, Lieutenant Samson Haruna, and set him ablaze following a domestic dispute at their residence in Wellington Bassey Barracks, Ibagwa, Akwa Ibom State, on Monday, September 22, 2025.

Now in police custody and under interrogation, Mrs. Haruna has broken her silence, refuting the claims that she murdered her husband. According to her, it was Lieutenant Haruna who accidentally set himself ablaze during a heated confrontation.

In her statement to investigators, Retyit explained that her marriage had been troubled from the very beginning, alleging that her late husband frequently assaulted her.

“From the first month of our marriage, he started beating me. Almost everyone in the barracks knew about it,” she said, fighting back tears. “There was a time he beat me so badly that I had a miscarriage.”

She recounted that the abuse escalated on the day of the incident. According to her, her husband returned home that morning furious, threatening that something terrible would happen if she did not leave the house.

“He warned me not to take any of the things he bought during our wedding and said he would burn them if I tried,” she said.

Mrs. Haruna said she stayed in the house because she thought he did not mean his threats. However, when he returned from duty later that evening, he allegedly came home with a container of petrol.

“He told me again to leave or he would set me on fire. I thought he was joking until he brought out a lighter,” she recalled.

Out of fear, she said she tried to call the Commanding Officer (CO) to report the situation but got no immediate response.

“While we were arguing, he mistakenly kicked the petrol container, and it spilled on the floor. The lighter slipped from his hand and ignited the fire. I screamed and ran out for help. He went back inside to retrieve his documents, and that was when the fire spread and engulfed him,” she narrated.

Mrs. Haruna maintained that she had no intention of harming her husband and that the fire was purely accidental.

Authorities have yet to release an official statement on the ongoing investigation, but the incident has continued to stir mixed reactions within the military community and beyond.