The police in Yobe state have arrested a nine-year-old boy for allegedly setting a house ablaze, killing his two stepmothers and two younger brothers at Rugan Badali in Karasuwa Local Government Area of the state
Channels TV reports that the suspect claimed he burnt the house after his father accused him of stealing a fowl and beating him up.
“I carried one of our fowls to sell; the general public, looking at my age, reported me to my father, and I was beaten. The following day, I bought a N50 worth of matches at the neighbourhood while my two stepmothers and two younger brothers were asleep; I set our house on fire as revenge for what my father did to me.
Although when the house caught fire, I only shouted for help and people came for the rescue, I did not tell them that I was the one who did it until after three days of prayer; I now confessed and was later arrested by policemen and brought here to Damaturu,” he said
While parading the suspect alongside his father, Abubakar Idi, the Police Relations Officer in the state, ASP Yusuf Adamu-Ali said the suspect was a minor but would not go free so as to serve as a deterrent to other children who are into such an unlawful act.
He further expressed worry over such incidents, especially at a time when the state is recovering from the challenge of the Boko Haram insurgency.