The principal of a Deeper Life college in Uyo, Akwa Ibom where a junior student was said to have been sexually molested by some senior students
The principal of a Deeper Life college in Uyo, Akwa Ibom where a junior student was said to have been sexually molested by some senior students has been suspended.
A woman, Deborah Okezie, had posted a video on Facebook where she cried out that her 11-year-old son, a JSS1 student of Deeper Life High School, Uyo, was sexually molested by his seniors when her son was switched from his hostel to another hostel filled with senior students.
She said her son was frequently starved and beaten up by the senior students.
The victim was moved by the school principal from a hostel where other junior students stayed, to another hotel filled with senior students because he was bedwetting, Mrs Okezie said in the clip which went viral on Facebook.
The victim looked terrified in the video. The mother prodded him to speak up about his ordeal.
“They will remove his boxer and push their legs, finger and hands into his anus habitually,” the woman said in the video which has gone viral on Facebook and Twitter. Look at a child I sent to school, he came back with a broken anus,” she added.
Deeper Life High School, with 21 campuses across Nigeria, is owned by the pentecostal church, The Deeper Christian Life Ministry. The school has its headquarters in Lagos, South-west Nigeria.
The school management said in a statement on Monday that they were investigating the allegation.
“We want to assure the general public that investigations into the case have commenced and no culprit, whether staff or student, will be spared if found culpable. As an interim measure and to underscore the seriousness we attach to higher superintending values, the school principal has been suspended summarily even as further investigations continue,” the school said.
The Akwa Ibom State government had expressed concern over Mrs Okezie’s allegations. The Commissioner for Information in the state, Ini Ememobong, said Governor Emmanuel has directed the commissioner for education “to immediately investigate these complaints and take necessary action”.
“The State Government is committed to the protection of children wherever they may be within its jurisdiction,” Mr Ememobong said.
The school promised to make public the outcome of its investigations.
