Court jails scavenger six months for stealing school roofing sheets in Ondo

By Boye Oyeyemi

An Akure Magistrate’s Court has sentenced a scavenger, Ibironke Adedayo, to six months’ imprisonment for vandalising a public primary school and stealing roofing sheets from the premises in Akure, Ondo State.

Adedayo, who was not represented by a lawyer, was arraigned on a two-count charge of malicious damage and stealing, pleading guilty to both counts when the charges were read to him.

The prosecutor, Augustine Omhenihen, told the court that the convict and another suspect, who remains at large, committed the offence at about 8 p.m. on July 15, 2026, at St. Thomas Anglican Primary School, Akure.

Omhenihen said the duo unlawfully damaged parts of the school building, with the destruction estimated at ₦9,000, before removing roofing sheets from the facility.

The prosecutor said, “The defendant and his accomplice had earlier attempted to steal the roofing sheets but escaped arrest. They later returned to the school to carry out the act before the defendant was apprehended, while the second suspect fled.”

He urged the court to impose an appropriate punishment, noting that the defendant had admitted committing the offences.

In his judgment, Magistrate O.T. Lebi held that although Adedayo was a first-time offender, the nature of the crime warranted a custodial sentence. The magistrate consequently sentenced the defendant to six months’ imprisonment on each of the two counts, ordering that both jail terms should run concurrently.