A young man named Akeem Sulaiman, 24 years old, was arrested by the Osun State Command of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC). He was accused of damaging Ansar-Ud-Deen Secondary School in Iwo.
The head of Osun NSCDC, Michael Adaralewa, shared in a statement by their spokesperson, Adeleke Kehinde, that Sulaiman lives at No. 23 Aladorun Compound, Iwo. He was caught on Sunday, September 7, 2024, at around 11:15 a.m.
Adaralewa said that Sulaiman was caught while he was taking the stolen items to sell to metal scrap buyers.
Some of the stolen items included 13 shiny stainless steel hand-washing basins, a box for monitoring a pumping machine, communication cables, three stainless trays, and four hand shovels.
“After careful investigation, we found out that Sulaiman was once a worker for the contractor building the school.
“He has been stealing from different building sites for six years, selling the stolen goods to metal scrap buyers.”
Commandant Adaralewa stated that Sulaiman broke a law in Osun State called Section 451 of the Criminal Code Law, Cap 34. This law makes it a crime to willfully and unlawfully destroy or damage property.
He said, “This law says it’s wrong to destroy or damage property on purpose.”
The Commandant also mentioned that Sulaiman would be punished as per the law to warn others not to destroy government property. He advised metal scrap buyers to stop buying stolen items.
He warned that anyone found buying stolen stuff would face punishment according to the law.