A nine-year-old-girl accused of burning down Ebeano, one of the best supermarkets in Abuja, the Nigerian capital, has opened up in Police custody.
In a video clip of her interrogation, the girl said that she was taken to the supermarket by her mother. “My mum,” she said repeatedly when asked: “Who took you to that place?”
Asked what they went to the supermarket to do, she said it was to buy shoes for her and her sister.
On who gave her the lighter with which she lit the fire near gas cylinders inside the supermarket, the suspect replied: “It was my mum.”
One of the interrogators remarked that they cannot detain the girl since she is underage while another lamented that there is no way the perpetrators can repay for the losses, which he put at N5 billion.
Located in the Lokogoma area of Abuja, Ebeano Supermarket was burnt down on July 17, 2021. Fire fighters from Asokoro, Garki, Games Village and the National Judicial Institute in Abuja put out the fire after several hours.