A traditional ruler has handed three homeless boys aged 11, 12 and 14 years to the Ogun state government for their alleged involvement in armed robbery and other social vices in his community.
The traditional ruler of Owode-Egba community in Obafemi-Owode local government area of the state, Kolawole Sowemimo, said he handed the boys to the government after the police said they do not handle complaints against minors.
Olumide Sotubo, the Director of Social Welfare at the state Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Welfare, told Premium Times that the youngsters would be arraigned before a family court in Abeokuta, the state capital.
Sotubo said the kids had confessed to involvement in armed robbery, house breaking, smoking of Indian hemp and petty stealing.
He said all of them were from broken homes, with one identified as the son of a policeman whose whereabouts were unknown.
“The suspects will be charged at the family court ahead of their transfer to the Juvenile Correctional Home in Asero, Abeokuta,” Sotubo said.
The traditional ruler alleged that the boys were usually engaged as pathfinders during operations by criminal gangs and had become a thorn in the side of Owode-Egba community.
Sowemimo said they were homeless and usually slept in shanties and Indian hemp joints in the community.
”As a father, I am worried about the future of these kids. The case was reported to the police in Owode, but they could not be detained because of their ages, so I had to take them to the palace with the aim to rehabilitate them,” the monarch said.
