Following allegations of sexual molestation that has rocked the Deeper Life School in Uyo, Shalom Omoniyi, one of the students accused of sexually
Following allegations of sexual molestation that has rocked the Deeper Life School in Uyo, Shalom Omoniyi, one of the students accused of sexually bullying and molesting Don-Davis Archibong, has narrated his side of the story.
It would be recalled that Don-Davis alleged that senior students of the school (Shalom and one Ola) sexually assaulted him while he was in their hostel.
Don-Davis said, “When I got to Deeper Life School, because I bedwet, Mr Akpan will use belt on me. He uses anything he sees, even if it is an iron, belt, or he can even use stone. Because I bedwet, they transferred me from JS1 dormitory to SS1 dormitory.
“There were two boys named Ola and Shalom, they used to put their hands inside my anus, bring out faeces and then use that same hand to beat me. For two weeks I did not have my bath.”
Don-Davis said both boys threatened to kill him if he reported that he was sexually molested.
Shalom, a 13-year-old SS1 student from Ekiti State, however, denied all the allegations. He said their boarding master, Nseabasi Joseph, only asked him and Ola to help Don-Davis learn how to be neat.
Shalom said, “Don-Davis was my bunkmate. I resumed at the school on November 1, 2020, to meet him as my bunkmate. But I was told that he was removed from the Junior Students Hostel and put in the Senior Students Hostel because the boarding master of junior school, Mr. Akpan, was sick.
“We (Ola and I) did not bully him. He wasn’t sexually molested. The boarding master, Joseph Nseabasi, asked us to make sure he was always clean because when he pooped or peed on himself, he didn’t clean up. And when he smelled, and we asked him if he defecated, he would say no.
“But when we asked him to pull down his boxers and bend down, we would discover that he defecated without cleaning his anus. We would now ask him to go and take his bath or clean himself. And when we noticed that his clothes were smelling, we would tell him to go and wash the clothes, but he would refuse. Instead, he would go and put the smelly clothes in his cupboard.”
Shalom added that Don-Davis was moved back to the Junior Students Hostel when the housemaster returned before the end of the term on December 19, 2020, revealing that the housemaster helped Don Davis to brush his teeth, bathe him and wash his clothes
The student also said a female nurse used to come at 6:30 am to give Don-Davis drugs every day on an empty stomach.
According to Shalom, Don-Davis later reported them to the suspended principal but they were not punished.
“Don-Davis reported us to the school principal that Ola and I bullied him. The principal invited us to her office and told us that she was going to punish us. Even when we tried to explain things to her, she refused to listen. But she did not punish us.”
Olusegun Omoniyi, the father of the accused said his son is innocent and that he doesn’t believe the story, adding that he was surprised when Don-Davis mentioned his son’s name in the matter.
Mr Omoniyi explained that even when the school principal, Ndidi Solomon, contacted him, saying she was going to punish his son, he was not given details of the offence he was said to have committed.
He said, “So, when I saw the story and the alleged involvement of my son, I decided to call my son and ask him why he bullied and molested the boy, but he said he did not do such a thing.
“I cannot force my son to tell a lie. And I also allowed him to make a statement to the police last Thursday. I am not worried about anything because I believe that my son is telling the truth and I know the truth will prevail, no matter how long it takes. In fact, the whole story is too shallow for me to believe.”
