9-Year-Old, 4 Deaths’ Mystery

A nine-year-old boy has allegedly confessed to setting ablaze his father’s house at Ruga Badali Fulani Settlement in Karasuwa Local Government Area of Yobe State, leading to the death of his two stepmothers and two stepsisters.

The deceased were 28-year-old Bilkisu Bukar, her co-wife Salma, 22, and Bilkisu’s young children: eight-month-old Zainab and three-year-old Hafsat.

It was learnt that the boy’s mother was not living with the family.

The victims were burnt beyond recognition and subsequently buried at the Rugar Audu Badali cemetery according to Islamic rites.

The tragedy, which stunned the community, was mourned as a domestic fire accident until the police on Wednesday said the minor had a case to answer after an investigation that lasted over a month.

On Wednesday, the nine-year-old was paraded alongside his father, Abubakar Idi, before journalists at the Police Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in Damaturu, the Yobe State capital.

In an interview with journalists, the boy said he set fire to the house in late August after his father beat him for selling one of the family’s fowls, adding that he suspected his stepmother  reported the alleged theft.

He stated, “I carried one of our fowls and sold it. They (step-mothers) reported me to my father and I was beaten. The following day, I bought matches in our area, and while my two stepmothers and two younger sisters (stepsisters) were asleep, I set our house on fire as revenge for what my father did to me.

“When the house caught fire, I only shouted for help and people came for the rescue, but I did not tell them that I was the one who did it until three days later. I was arrested by the police and brought here.”

Some residents told one of our correspondents that there was tension occasioned by frequent disagreements in the family.

“When the incident happened, many people suspected that Abubakar Idi was the one who set the fire that killed his children and wives,” said one of the residents who pleaded anonymity.

The source said the suspicion grew within the community after the boy fled upon learning his father had been questioned by security personnel, prompting authorities to track him down.

The Yobe State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), ASP Yusuf Adamu-Ali, stated that the investigation ultimately established that the case was a premeditated murder.

“The Karasuwa Divisional Headquarters received a distress call that there was a fire outbreak in the man’s house where two of his wives and two of his children were burned beyond recognition,” he said.

The PRRO explained that after a thorough investigation, it was discovered that it was not a fire outbreak.

“The house was set ablaze by the son of Abubakar Idi, by name Adamu, who is nine years old.”

While acknowledging the suspect’s tender age, the police spokesman emphasized that the gravity of the offence requires proper legal action to ensure accountability.

The act has stirred debate over parenting, domestic crisis and the legal position on an alleged murder committed by a minor.

Boy’s action a transfer of aggression – Psychologists

Alhaji Ahmadu Ibrahim, a psychologist and the Head of the Department of Sociology at Yobe State University (YSU), described the incident as a case of “transfer of aggression” born of an abusive home environment.

According to Ahmadu, the young boy may have been subjected to continuous maltreatment, including being beaten and denied food.

“It’s common in our society; when a child has no mother in the house to take care of him and the co-wives are maltreating him by denying him food and beating him, gradually, depression will build up, and by the time he becomes depressed, anything can happen,” Ahmadu explained.

The expert said when a child is continually neglected or subjected to unrelenting abuse, they begin to internalize the belief that the entire society hates them.

“That usually causes suicide, but in his own case, he took revenge. He transferred the aggression onto the stepmothers,” he said.

On what can be done to prevent a recurrence, Ahmadu called for stronger familial duty and systemic intervention.

He pointed to Western models, such as those in the United States, where child protective services intervene and take custody of neglected or abused children to prevent them from becoming “monsters in society.”

“Family should give the child a sense of belonging. And if they fail to do that, the government should intervene,” Ahmadu urged.

He noted that in the absence of a robust state-run foster care system, communities must rely heavily on religious teachings to remind parents and guardians of their moral obligations to prevent maltreatment and take full responsibility for the children in their care.

Despite the psychological factors driving the boy’s actions, Ahmadu lamented that the severity of the offense means the legal system must now take its course once the child reaches the age of legal responsibility.

He emphasized that the government still has a vital, multi-faceted role to play in addressing the root causes of domestic abuse and protecting vulnerable children in society.

Another psychologist, Dr Mahmoud Sarki of the Department of Education, Faculty of Education, Federal University Dutse, Jigawa State, said public humiliation following the punishment of the nine-year-old for selling the foul might have triggered him to set the house ablaze.

Sarki, however, cautioned against attributing the boy’s action to a single factor, saying several emotional and family-related circumstances could have influenced his behaviour.

“From a psychological perspective, the incident should be viewed as potentially involving multiple interacting factors rather than assuming that one event alone caused the behaviour of the child,” he said.

According to him, the reported separation of the boy’s biological parents, his relationship with his step family and the punishment he allegedly received after being caught stealing a hen could all have contributed to his emotional state.

“The punishment may have served as the immediate trigger for the fire-setting, particularly if the child experienced it as humiliation, shame, anger or a sense of injustice,” Sarki said.

He said a nine-year-old might also have limited ability to regulate intense emotions and fully appreciate the consequences of his actions.

“At nine years old, a child may not have the ability to control intense emotions and impulses because that capacity is still developing,” he said.

Sarki added that the child might have perceived the public beating as unfair treatment and responded with anger or a desire for retaliation.

“The child may have felt unfairly treated and responded with anger or a desire to take revenge or retaliate over the incident,” he said.

He also linked the incident to possible difficulties associated with the boy’s family circumstances.

“Parent separation may have contributed to emotional insecurity, feelings of rejection or family instability,” he said.

According to him, difficulties adjusting to a stepfamily or changes in family relationships could also contribute to resentment and emotional distress.

“The step family tension, difficulty in adjusting to stepmothers or changes in family relationships may have contributed to resentment or emotional distress,” Sarki said.

He further warned that inadequate parental care could compound such problems, saying some children might experience feelings of rejection when their emotional and basic needs were not adequately attended to.

“All these psychological factors may trigger anger, rejection, humiliation and emotional distress,” he said.

Sarki said the child might not have fully understood that setting the house on fire could result in death.

“He may not have reasoned fully that setting the fire to the house could lead to the death of the two stepmothers,” he said, stressing that the child was still developing emotionally and psychologically.

What does the law say?

A former Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Damaturu Branch, Saidu Mohammed, said a nine-year-old boy cannot be held criminally liable under the law.

The legal expert emphasised that focusing on punitive measures for a child of that age is legally misplaced. Instead, he called for a deeper investigation into the root causes of the incident to ensure proper rehabilitation and future prevention.

“So this is a very unfortunate situation where probably the investigative body should have to go beyond punishment and unravel the reasons behind the incident.

“They have to investigate properly to know the motive of the boy so that we can look at more preventive measures and rehabilitation. He is not liable to criminal punishment. That is the position of the penal code law,” he said.

Saidu further advocated for a multidisciplinary approach involving child experts and psychologists to interview the boy’s parents and community members.

He noted that such evaluations are crucial to determining if parental neglect, lack of care, or poor upbringing contributed to the child’s actions.

“I think this is where the energy should go rather than thinking about the kind of punishment against him,” he remarked.

Highlighting the legal responsibilities of parenthood, the former NBA chairman warned that if investigations revealed that maltreatment or gross parental negligence drove the child to commit the offence, the legal focus could shift toward holding the parents accountable.

“If the investigation proves lack of care and maltreatment pushed the boy to commit the offence, the law will possibly look at the possibility of prosecuting the father for negligence and lack of care. We have a duty to our children, and this is very unfortunate,” Saidu concluded.

Another lawyer, Hameed Ajibola Jimoh, also cautioned authorities against treating the nine-year-old boy as an adult criminal suspect, saying his age was legally significant.

Jimoh, while describing the reported death of four people, including two stepmothers and two stepbrothers of the boy, as “deeply tragic and unfortunate”, said the incident must be properly investigated and the victims’ families given justice.

“However, the fact that the alleged conduct resulted in multiple deaths does not mean that the child can be treated in the same manner as an adult suspected of committing a serious criminal offence,” he said.

He said Yobe State had domesticated child-protection legislation, noting that the state government assented to its Child Protection Law in 2022.

“Therefore, in dealing with a nine-year-old child in Yobe, we must look not only at the general criminal law but also at the special statutory regime governing children and child justice in the state,” he said.

Jimoh, however, cautioned against concluding that every child below 12 years was automatically incapable of committing an offence.

“I would not say, without qualification, that every child below 12 years of age is incapable of committing an offence,” he said.

“Under Nigerian criminal law, the question of criminal responsibility of a child within the relevant age bracket may depend upon the applicable law and the child’s capacity and understanding.”

He added that the boy’s age did not end every legal inquiry into the alleged conduct, but stressed that this was different from subjecting him to the ordinary adult criminal justice process.

“A nine-year-old remains a child, and the law establishes a special regime for children who come into contact with the criminal justice system.

“The emphasis of that regime is not simply punishment. It is the protection, correction, rehabilitation, education, supervision and eventual reintegration of the child,” he said.

He said the authorities could investigate the incident and determine how the fire started and whether other persons were involved, but warned against treating or publicly parading the boy as an adult criminal suspect.

“The child must be handled in accordance with the law governing children. He should not be treated, paraded or publicly labelled in the same manner as an adult criminal suspect,” Jimoh said.

He added that the alleged confession should also be carefully examined, including the circumstances under which it was obtained and whether safeguards applicable to children were followed.

“Protecting the child does not mean ignoring the victims. Four people have reportedly died, and that is an extremely serious matter. The State has a duty to investigate the circumstances fully, protect the community and ensure that any person who is legally responsible is dealt with according to law.

“The question should not simply be: ‘How do we punish this nine-year-old child?’ The proper legal question is: ‘How does the law require the State to respond to an extremely serious act allegedly committed by a nine-year-old child, while protecting society, respecting the rights of the victims and preserving the child’s right to rehabilitation and reintegration? That is the essence of child justice,” he said.

An Abuja-based lawyer, Barrister Abdurrahman Salis, said the boy’s age alone should not absolve him of a possible criminal liability, saying a child between seven and 12 years could be held responsible if found to have sufficient maturity and understanding of the consequences of his actions.

Salis said, “Under the Penal Code, which applies to the northern states, a child of seven years cannot be held criminally liable for his actions. But a child above seven years and below 12 years can be held criminally liable if he attains sufficient maturity and has the capacity to understand the consequences of his actions.”

He said a nine-year-old who fulfilled the requirements “could be held criminally liable for all his actions”, but stressed that this did not mean the child should be subjected to the same judicial process as an adult.

“It is very important to state that the fact that a child is criminally liable does not mean he is going to be subjected to the judicial process that the law will subject an adult,” he said.

According to him, the Child Rights Act and corresponding state laws provide a separate justice system for children accused of offences.

“Any child below 18 years in Nigeria cannot be subjected to the normal judicial process,” Salis said.

He explained that such cases should be handled by a family or juvenile court established specifically for children.

“In a family court, it’s a specific court established for the purpose of prosecuting children,” he said.

Salis added that the law also protects children from unnecessary public exposure during legal proceedings.

“The law made it very clear that when you are prosecuting them in the family court, the public are excluded from the hearing,” he said.

He therefore urged the police to conduct their investigation while complying with child-protection provisions, particularly those relating to privacy.

“When a child is alleged to have committed an offence, the police have a duty to investigate. But while investigating, they must also comply with the provisions of the child rights laws by not publicising the name of the child and by not publicising the pictures of the child. They have to ensure that the privacy of the child is well maintained,” he said.

Salis said that after investigations, the police could take the child before a family court, which would determine whether he was legally liable and the appropriate intervention under the law. (Daily trust)