THE Lagos State Police Command says it has commenced an investigation into the alleged rape of a pupil of Chrisland School, Victoria Garden City, (VGC), Lagos.
A spokesperson for the Lagos Police Command, Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed the development to The ICIR via a telephone interview on Monday.
“Yes, we have commenced investigation into it. No one has reported the issue to us but we saw it on the social media and we have swiftly commenced our investigation into the case,” Hundeyin said.
The management of Chrisland School had suspended the 10-year old for alleged involvement in ‘improper bahaviour’ during a World School Games in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
She was suspended in a letter dated April 14, 2022, signed by the Head Teacher, G. I. Azike, and titled, Indefinite suspension of …(the female student).”
According to Chrisland School, the pupil and a few of ‘her counterparts willfully participated in a ‘Truth or Dare’ game which led her and a few other co-learners to carry out an immoral act after the lights-out instruction was given’.
“In line with our core values centred on discipline, Chrisland Schools have zero tolerance for any improper behaviour and misconduct. A full-scale investigation has been done, and the parents of all the culpable learners have been duly notified of the necessary punishment meted out on the learners.
“…We cannot as a school condone such. Consequently, (the student) is hereby placed on an indefinite suspension until you as the parents ensure that she is punished, adequately counselled and rehabilitated,” parts of the letter read.
Contrary to the position of Chrisland school, the mother of the 10-year-old said her child was allegedly raped, and the school was trying to cover it up.
In a viral video shared by Ubi Franklin, a music executive, via his Instagram page on Monday, the mother of the victim claimed in a footage she was not aware of what transpired in Dubai till another parent showed her the video of the incident.
She also accused the school of trying to cover up the case and demanded justice
“As I was beating my daughter, she opened up to me and said the school threatened her not to speak out… My daughter was dying in silence and I did not know. Every day, I’ll be forcing her out of the room but she wouldn’t want to go to school,” she said.
“I’m begging Nigerians to help me because Chrisland attempted to hide the issue, they wanted to push us out of the way and my daughter was going psychologically insane. I need help as a mother. My daughter is not okay.
“They took her for pregnancy tests without my knowledge and lied to us that it was COVID-19 test. They did the tests almost three times. Please do they require blood or urine for COVID-19 test? I did not know until the whole issue became public.”
The woman said her daughter was suspended from school after they called the management to ask questions about the incident.
“To crown it all, because we started confronting them that we are aware of what has happened, they sent her a suspension letter,” she said.
“When I asked her what happened, my daughter said on the day of the incident they went out in the morning to have breakfast and one of the boys begged her to borrow him her phone charger which she did.
“She said later in the evening, the boy called her room and asked her to come for the charger in his room. So, she went there.
“When she got to the room to get the charger, they opened the door and one of the boys asked her to go and get her charger inside the toilet. She said it was when she entered the toilet that the boys surrounded her and asked her to drink a substance.
“She said they were all under the influence of drugs after that and she did not know what she was doing again. My daughter said the boys asked her to climb on them while one of them was filming and sending out the videos.”
Lagos govt shut down all Chrisland branches
Following the incident that has ensued between the parent of the 10-year-old and the school, the Lagos State Government has suspended all Chrisland Branches in the state.
This was disclosed in a statement signed by the Lagos State Ministry of Education, Ministry of Youth and Social Development, Office of Education Quality Assurance, Ministry of Justice, and Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency.
The state government said it is also investigating the allegations of sexual violence in accordance with its laws.
“In view of the allegations, we are committed to ensuring that adequate medical and psychosocial support is provided.
“…In the meantime, all Chrisland schools within Lagos State are hereby closed, pending further investigations,” the statement said.
Rape in Chrisland school
The allegation of rape is not new in Chrisland school.
In 2018, a 60-year-old man, Adegboyega Adenekan, a Supervisor of Chrisland School was arrested and arraigned for defiling a two-year-old child.
After a trial that lasted about a year, Justice Sybil Nwaka of an Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court sentenced Adenekan to 60 years’ imprisonment.
Before the verdict, Nwaka said adequate evidence tendered before the court showed that the Adenekan defiled the toddler by having unlawful sexual intercourse with her, in contravention of Section 137 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.
Lukman Abolade is an Investigative reporter with The ICIR. Reach out to him via labolade@icirnigeria.org, on twitter @AboladeLAA and FB @Correction94
Amos Abba is a journalist with the International Center for Investigative Reporting, ICIR, who believes that courageous investigative reporting is the key to social justice and accountability in the society.