A resident, Achibong Patrick, strangled his four children, who were asleep.

Achibong, 35, killed his children after chasing his hairdresser wife away from their two-room apartment.

The Nation learnt that after killing the children, aged one, three, five and eight, he set his home on fire and hanged himself.

It was gathered that the incident occurred around 1am.

A source said Achibong’s wife, who was running away, shouted that her husband, a native of Ogoja in Cross River State, was after her and their children, but before neighbours could intervene, the evil deed had been done.

A neighbour, who spoke in confidence, said Achibong was notorious for beating up his wife.

He said the woman had attempted to seek divorce, which the man got wind of, leading to the sad incident.

The source said when the wife later returned home, she saw the bodies of members of her family and the burnt flat.

She was taken to an unknown destination by sympathisers.

The police have evacuated the bodies and deposited them in a mortuary.

Police spokesman Nnamdi Omoni confirmed the incident on the phone.

When asked if anybody had been arrested, he said: “Who are you going to arrest? The man chased away his wife before killing their four children. He did not stop at killing the children; he set his house ablaze before hanging himself.”