THE mother of a three-year-old boy assaulted by his teacher, Stella Nwadigbo, at Christ Mitots School in Ikorodu, Lagos State, has revealed that the boy lost his father shortly after clocking one year.
In a trending video, the mother, Adenike Okunaya, sought justice for the boy following the abuse that went viral on social media.
In a video interview posted by a Facebook user, Shabi Pounds, the mother described the shock and heartbreak she felt upon learning of the abuse.
“On Monday, when we resumed school, my child was in his class while I was in mine. Later, I heard ‘write six,’ and I didn’t know that what was happening was to my child,” she recounted.
She continued: “It was only later when someone from the school came to show me the video of how the teacher was smacking my child that I realised the extent of what had happened.”
Okunaya revealed that she had previously been informed by her son, Michael, about the alleged mistreatment by the teacher. “Michael did complain that Nwadigbo beat me,” she said, adding that she informed the school authority of the complaints repeatedly made by her child.
“I told the school authority about it, and they promised to address the issue, but nothing was done.”
When asked how she felt about the teacher’s actions, Okunaya clarified that she never instructed her to discipline her child physically.
“I don’t send the teacher to beat or smack my child. I only asked them to take care of his studies for me, not to beat him in any way.”
Okunaya, who works at the school, expressed her deep concern for her son’s well-being and his education, particularly after the tragic loss of her husband when Michael was just one year old.
“The father of the child is dead. He was one year old when his father died.”
In light of the difficult circumstances she faces, Okunaya appealed to Nigerians for support in her child’s education.
She said life was difficult for her, stressing that in addition to teaching, she did all sorts of menial jobs, such as washing clothes for people to survive.
The ICIR reported that the boy’s abuse sparked public outrage, leading to the teacher’s arrest and subsequent remand at the Kirikiri Correctional Facility.
The court’s decision came after Nwadigbo was arraigned on Thursday, January 9, following her arrest by the Lagos State Police Command, according to a statement by the Command’s spokesperson, Benjamin Hundeyin.
The ICIR reported that the arrest was prompted by a viral video showing the suspect subjecting the child to degrading treatment. The footage, which went viral on social media, showed the teacher aggressively smacking the child in the face repeatedly for struggling with a lesson.
The incident was initially handled by the Family Support Unit (FSU) of the Ikorodu Police Division before being transferred to the Gender Unit at the Command Headquarters for further investigation.
The police noted that the victim has since been taken to a medical facility for treatment.
Usman Mustapha is a solution journalist with International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: umustapha@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M