Ondo teen landlord discloses past drug use in tenant’s property-burning case
By Boye Oyeyemi
An 18-year-old landlord, Similoluwa Akande, has disclosed that he started smoking Indian hemp while in Junior Secondary School 2, during proceedings over the alleged burning of his tenant’s property in Ondo State.
Akande made the disclosure on Wednesday at an Akungba-Akoko Magistrate’s Court while responding to claims that drug use contributed to the alleged offence.
The defendant, however, told the court that he had stopped smoking Indian hemp, saying his medical condition no longer allowed him to continue the habit.
Police prosecutor Olasunkanmi Boboye told the court that Akande allegedly committed the offence at about 10 a.m. on Aug. 19, 2026, at Okusa, Akungba-Akoko, within the Akungba-Akoko Magisterial District.
Boboye alleged that Akande set fire to the belongings of his tenant, Aseluwa Ezekiel, including a bed valued at N70,000, a bed frame worth N90,000, clothes valued at N450,000 and a carpet worth N20,000.
The prosecutor said the alleged offence contravened Section 249(D) of the Criminal Code, Cap. 37, Vol. 1, Laws of Ondo State of Nigeria, 2006.
Akande, who was not represented by a lawyer, pleaded not guilty to the charge when it was read to him and also told the court that he had some medical challenges.
Magistrate Kolapo Kolawole subsequently granted the defendant bail of N500,000.
