Yam ban worth about N2 million, belonging to St. Cyprian’s Special Science School in Nsukka Local Government Area, Enugu state, has been set ablaze by teenagers while hunting for rabbits.
The two teenagers who allegedly set the ban on fire were said to have embarked on hunting expedition and in order to force the animals out of their holes and hideouts, set the bush near the school ban on fire.
It was gathered that the teenagers who could not stop the fire from encroaching into the yam ban watched helplessly as the ban went up in flames. All the yams were roasted in the inferno, rendering them useless.
The two teenagers according to the school authority were said to have admitted that they were responsible for the fire outbreak and as a result, have been arrested by the police.
However, the principal of the missionary school, Barr. Chike Ngwu, regretted that the suspects have since been released without the knowledge of the school authority.
He expressed disappointment that not even the Investigating Police Officer, IPO of the case deemed it necessary to visit the place of the incident for confirmation.
He said: “We need to know who the parents of the suspects are, where they come from, even if we want to pardon them.
“For the police to release them without our knowledge is very annoying. We use the yams to feed our students and now that the yams have been burnt, our students are the ones to bear the brunt. The yams are worth over two million naira”.
However, a police source said the suspects were released as the fire was not a case of arson.
“Besides, we had to release the teenagers after they spent over three or five days when the man who reported the case was not forthcoming”, he added.
The source could not however say why the IPO could not visit the scene of the incident.
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