Hoodlums who want to sleep in the school, it was learnt pay between N200 and N300 to the guards, while those with female companions pay N700.
The guards, however, pleaded not guilty as they stood before a Special Court in Alausa where they were arraigned, and were granted bail in the sum of N50,000 each, plus two sureties each who must have evidence of three years tax payment.
They were sent to Ikoyi Prison pending when they will meet the bail conditions.
In his reaction, Taskforce Chairman, Bayo Sulaiman, a Chief Superintendent of Police, said some of the hoodlums not only paid money to the security guards to be allowed to sleep inside the school but also vandalized the school’s property.
According to him, school authorities had been complaining that hoodlums messed up their schools and excrete on students’ lockers, adding that such things might be happening in other schools where touts pay money to sleep in them and carry out their nefarious activities.
Speaking on the arrest of the school guards, Principal of Ilupeju Grammar School, Odi-Olowo Local Council Development Area, Lagos, Otunba Y.O. Bashorun, said he couldn’t really say if the guards were collecting money from miscreants to sleep within the school premises since he did not catch them red-handed.
“What we want now is for the government to come to our aid. This environment is not conducive for learning. We are surrounded by motor parks and touts. Opposite us is Ilupeju park, behind us is Ibadan park. They always disturb us with their blaring loud speakers while soliciting for passengers.
“If you go round the school, you will see what I am talking about. Touts usually scale the fence to gain entrance into the premises. Some parts of the wall have even been broken by these people. If you wait till about 6-7.p.m., you will see them coming in.”
He said further, “weekend is the worst. You will see them washing their clothes by the school tap and they will dry it on the school wall. Sometimes if I come to do some work here on Saturdays, I have to lock myself up in this office because I don’t want anybody to come and attack me.
“By Monday morning, the classrooms would have been littered with faeces, urine an all sorts of dirt. Some danfo (commuter bus) drivers even park their vehicles in this compound without the consent of the school authorities. What they do is that they park the buses late in the night and remove them early in the morning.”
“I so much like what happened. It will send a signal to the miscreants that it is not going to be business as usual in this school premises. The era of coming here to pass the night and wash their clothes in the school premises has gone. In fact, some of them have even fled.
“What we want now is that the state government should come to our rescue and make this environment conducive for learning. All the students see everyday are different forms of social vices which is not okay for their learning experience. We need tough, well trained security personnel and not old men like we used to have before,” Bashorun said.
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