Court sentences 18-year-old student to community service in Ibadan

An 18-year-old secondary school student, Fawaz Hamzat, has been sentenced to three months of community service by a Chief Magistrate Court sitting at Mapo in Ibadan, Oyo State.

Hamzat, a student of Olunde Community Secondary School, was convicted on Tuesday after pleading guilty to threatening the life of a rival student with a cutlass during an inter-school clash.

The presiding magistrate, Mrs O.O. Latunji, said the sentence was based on Hamzat’s guilty plea and the evidence presented by the prosecution. She cautioned the convict against future misconduct, warning that any repeat offence would attract a stiffer penalty.

“To serve as a deterrent to others, Hamzat is sentenced to three months of community service,” Latunji declared.

Earlier, the prosecutor, Inspector Oluseye Akinola, told the court that the offence occurred on May 22 around 3:00 p.m. at the Olunde area of Ibadan. He said Hamzat was apprehended by local security personnel and community members after he was caught chasing students of Olunde Grammar School with a cutlass during an inter-school fight.

Akinola said the offence contravened Section 249 of the Criminal Code, Cap 38, Vol. II, Laws of Oyo State, 2000.

DAILY POST reports that violent inter-school rivalries, particularly in less urban parts of Ibadan, are resurfacing, a troubling trend reminiscent of similar unrest in past decades.