A resident of Iree, Osun State, Muritala Afolabi, on Friday, sustained serious injuries after setting himself ablaze.

Muritala was, however, rescued by some people who heard his cry as fire burnt his body.

He was rushed to a private hospital in Iree, where he was admitted.

Speaking with PUNCH Metro from his sick bed on Sunday, Muritala, a vulcaniser, said he decided to commit suicide having been subjected to emotional torture and frustration by his wife.

The 30-year-old artisan said he got married to his wife in July 2022 and since then, the woman had made life difficult by cursing and abusing him.

He said, “I just thought of ending it. That Friday, I went into a filing station, bought fuel and went to a forest behind Baptist High School, Iree, and set myself ablaze.

“I thought of what I was passing through and it made me to decide to end my life. Poverty and repeated curses of my wife made me to lose hope. I married the woman just in July this year.

“Some people heard me when fire was burning my body and rushed to the scene. They rescued me and brought me to hospital.”

When contacted by our correspondent on the phone, Muritala’s wife, Ifedolapo, denied cursing him.

She said, “I don’t know why he decided to kill himself. I am his wife. I am yet to have any child for him.”(The PUNCH:Text, excluding headline)