Cobbler burns son with fire, breaks arm for stealing

A 10-year-old boy, Lukman Babarinde, has been battered by his father, Yaya, for allegedly stealing money from a neighbour.

Yaya was alleged to have beaten the victim till he broke his arms after which he asked him to sit on a local stove, stocked with burning coals.

The fire was said to have burnt the victim’s clothes and different parts of his body.

Not done, Yaya allegedly tied up his son with ropes and forced him to kneel.

His sister was said to have later cut off the ropes, after which the victim was rushed to a hospital in the Pagun area, Ibadan, Oyo State, where the incident happened.

When the father of six could not afford the medical bill, Lukman was reportedly taken back home before the intervention of some residents.

In a video clip posted by Hot Naija Videos on Youtube on Tuesday, Yaya was seen being interrogated by a resident who asked him why he adopted such extreme methods to discipline his son.

He said, “I had gone out and when I returned, I was told that he stole somebody’s money. I was surprised because I had given money to him and his siblings to eat. I beat him and asked him not to do that again.
“I then tied his hands and put him on a local stove with ashes underneath. I didn’t know the ashes still had fire. When his clothes caught fire, I saved him. I don’t have the money to take him to a hospital. Please pardon me. It was a mistake and I won’t do such again.”

Yaya’s first daughter, Bidemi, said she cut off the ropes used to tie Lukman, adding that she was shocked  by her father’s action.

She said, “I had gone to charge my phone when the incident happened. When I returned, I saw the boy kneeling with his two hands tied. That was after his clothes had been burnt in the fire.
“I enquired what he did wrong and I was told he stole money. I used a pair of scissors to cut off the ropes and set him free. I also gave him food to eat.”

Bidemi explained that the suspect always gave five of the children N300 for morning and afternoon meals, adding that one of them always followed Yaya out.

The victim’s mother, who did not identify herself, said she had separated from Yaya.

She said efforts by residents and her family members to reconcile them were abortive as he insisted that he was no longer interested in the relationship.

She said, “I went with the five children that I had for him, but he said he must take custody of them. He placed a curse on whoever tried to keep the children away from him and because of that, my family said we should release the children to him.”

The 10-year-old victim, who walked with difficulty and appeared to be in pain, said his father put him in a fire and “burnt my body.”

The state Police Public Relations Officer, Ajisebutu Adekunle, said he would get back to our correspondent, but had yet to do so as of the time of filing this report.