10/07/2026
A FORMAL REBUTTAL AND CLARIFICATION ON THE AWARD OF SCHOLARSHIP TO MASTER TEMITOPE
Comr. Nostain Akpevweoghhene Etinagbedia, Proprietor,Stainless International Academy Headquarters:Orhomuru,Orogun & Kokori Branch.
It has become imperative to address the cacophony of misrepresentation and the vitriolic narratives that have trailed the recent magnanimous decision of the Management of Stainless International Academy to award a full academic scholarship to Master Temitope,a minor of 13 years, who was found culpable of pilfering six birds from the Agricultural poultry situated within the Corpers’Lodge, otherwise known as the National Youth Service Corps Members’Residential Quarters.
Permit me to state, ex cathedra, that this decision was neither precipitous nor indicative of an institutional proclivity toward the condonation of criminality. On the contrary, it was the product of meticulous deliberation, ethical introspection, and a profound commitment to the imperatives of restorative justice and social responsibility.
The chronology is thus:Upon discovery of the act,a comprehensive investigation was instituted.During a candid interview,the minor, through an uncoerced confession,admitted to the perpetration of the act at approximately 11:00 a.m.,a period within the stipulated school hours.However,the salient and more disconcerting revelation was that Master Temitope,at the tender and formative age of 13, was not enrolled in any formal educational institution.
Further inquiry into his domestic milieu unveiled a harrowing reality.The child is fatherless.His surviving parent, his mother,is economically indigent and utterly bereft of the financial wherewithal to provide him with even the most rudimentary academic tutelage.The confluence of parental bereavement,penury, and idleness had,predictably, incubated a deleterious proclivity.It was ascertained that the act in question was not an isolated aberration but rather part of an emerging pattern of habitual pilfering,a direct corollary of a life devoid of structure, guidance,and opportunity.
In the face of this socio-economic despondency,the Management was confronted with a dichotomy:to administer punitive retribution that would further alienate and criminalize a minor,or to deploy pedagogy as an instrument of reformation and reintegration. We chose the latter.The scholarship was therefore conceived not as a reward for malfeasance but as a prophylactic intervention.It is a deliberate stratagem to extricate the child from the pernicious cycle of poverty and crime,and to induct him into an environment of discipline, mentorship,and intellectual development.Education, we believe,is the most potent antidote to recidivism.
It is regrettable that this act of benevolence has been misconstrued by a segment of persons and some parents within the Stainless family as a tacit endorsement of criminality. The specious argument being canvassed is that “stealing has now become lucrative,”and that"anyone who steals from the school will be granted a scholarship.”Such postulations are not only reductive but also perilously myopic.
Let me make my position unequivocal and incontrovertible.My act of clemency must not, under any circumstance, be misconstrued as weakness,pusillanimity,or a dereliction of institutional discipline.This singular act was predicated on extenuating circumstances — minority, orphanhood,indigence,and the absence of educational opportunity.It is an exception that proves the rule.
Henceforth,let it be known to all and sundry that any individual who perpetrates any act of larceny,vandalism,or criminality against Stainless International Academy,its staff,its NYSC members,or its property,will be made to face the full,unmitigated, and unrelenting weight of the law.There will be no compromise, no clemency,and no escape from judicial torment.The full apparatus of legal and security agencies will be deployed to ensure that perpetrators are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
The decision to rehabilitate Master Temitope is,in fact,a manifestation of our Corporate Social Responsibility.It is our modest contribution toward curbing the burgeoning menace of juvenile delinquency within our immediate catchment area.By salvaging one soul,we are,in essence,precluding the possibility of future criminality and contributing to communal security and moral regeneration.
Instead of excoriation,this unprecedented act of magnanimity deserves commendation.To attempt to drag the name and reputation of Stainless International Academy and my person into opprobrium for choosing compassion over condemnation is an exercise in perfidy and ingratitude.
We remain unwavering in our commitment to academic excellence,moral probity,and community development.Let us,therefore, embrace rehabilitation where it is merited,and justice where it is demanded.
Thank you.
Comr. Nostain Akpevweoghhene Etinagbedia
Proprietor
Stainless International Academy
Date: 9th July, 2026