All the parties involved in the alleged abuse of a ten-year-old pupil of Chrisland Schools in Lagos State have been invited by authorities of the Lagos State Police Command.
Those expected at the police headquarters were officials of the school, the parents of the girl said to have been abused, the pupil, among others.
According to Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, all parties involved had been contacted.
Amid the controversy trailing the alleged abuse of the minor, police authorities in Lagos had vowed to ensure that justice was served in the matter.
Hundeyin, a Superintendent of Police, explained in a statement that the police have commenced an investigation following the emergence of a video that went viral on social media.
According to him, the police will probe the allegation of threat to the life of the pupil and circumstances surrounding the alleged repeated pregnancy tests conducted on her without parental consent, among others.
The command spokesman added that the police would not ignore the cybercrime aspect of the incident and might enlist the support of the INTERPOL, should the need arise.
The government said the allegations were also being investigated by the relevant Ministries, Departments, and Agencies, including the Ministry of Education, Office of Education Quality Assurance, Ministry of Youth and Social Development, Ministry of Justice, and the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency.
It reassured residents of its commitment to safety and child protection and warned against the visual depiction of sexually explicit conduct involving a child.
According to the government, anyone caught producing, distributing, receiving, or possessing an image of child pornography risks a custodial sentence of 14 years.
The mother of the pupil had, in a viral video, claimed that her daughter was drugged and raped by some male students of the school while they were on a trip to Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE).
She claimed that Chrisland sought to cover up the matter and suspended her daughter once the school found out she was aware of the gravity of the alleged abuse.
But the school, in a later statement signed by a member of its advisory board, Akin Fadeyi, insisted that no rape occurred and faulted the allegation of conducting a pregnancy test.
“We are proud to reassure our stakeholders that no rape of anyone or the administration of a pregnancy test on any child took place on our watch.
“For emphasis, only a COVID post-travel test was conducted on the returning delegation of our students, in compliance with COVID-19 travel protocols, at the Life Centre Medical Services on March 21, 2022, at School Hall, Opebi,” the statement said.
A video showing the mother of an alleged victim calling for help went viral on Monday, sparking controversy and debate.
She claimed that Chrisland had sought to cover up the matter.
In the video shared by one Ubi Franklin, she further claimed that Chrisland suspended her daughter once the school found out she was aware of the gravity of the alleged abuse.
However, in a later statement signed by a member of the Chrisland advisory board, Akin Fadeyi, the school said no rape occurred.
“We are proud to reassure our stakeholders that no rape of anyone or the administration of a pregnancy test on any child took place on our watch,” the statement said.
“For emphasis, only a COVID post-travel test was conducted on the returning delegation of our students, in compliance with COVID-19 travel protocols, at the Life Centre Medical Services on March 21, 2022, at School Hall, Opebi.”
The Lagos State Government has ordered the shutdown of all Chrisland schools within the state pending further investigations into the matter.
See the full Chrisland Statement below:
We have followed up on reports making the rounds on certain developments bordering on the morals and ethics of some of the students under our care, who represented the school at the World School games, Dubai between 8 and 14 of March 2022.
While we understand the emotions this has generated, we assure the public that our first approach as an institution was to assume parental roles by offering support to those involved and ensuring that nothing affected their senses of esteem.
However, after a comprehensive evaluation of the situation, we cannot help but express how scandalised and distressed we feel as mothers, fathers and instructors with a relationship that holds a direct bearing on the development of those involved.
Nonetheless, we took a critical view of the number of students who partook in this recent trip and who did the school proud in our quest to expand the horizons of our students holistically through global exposure, which takes into account a wholesome development of the mind, body and spirit through sporting engagements. Of the 76 children who represented Chrisland, 71 ensured an untainted adherence to our standards, abiding with laid down regulations and code of conduct, while doing us very proud in the process. Within these 71, we kept our girls on the 11th floor and Boys on the 4th floor to draw clear lines that respect moral boundaries.
We were, however, compelled to engage with the parents of the remaining students who unfortunately got themselves involved in misconduct, and in accordance with our code of conduct processes, which are well known to the parents, we meted out measured reprimands to them to instil a sense of discipline and as deterrence to others. This was also to caution our students on the need to remain on the path of resisting wrong influences.
The disciplinary action was in order not to undermine our cohesive culture as a community of future leaders and committed instructors, but to be assertive in handing down the sort of discipline that seeks to correct and reform our children, when they stray from the path of rectitude.
While we hasten to affirm that as an institution that is managing children from diverse backgrounds, we cannot lay claim to, or embark on any sense of self-righteousness in our approach, but we learn and evolve within the frames of best practices every single day.
As such, as we recognise that there will always be space for improvement, we are therefore irrevocably committed to re-evaluating our processes to reinforce child protection protocols, even as we shall leave no stone unturned in ensuring that the senses of esteem of the children involved are uncompromisingly preserved. We have activated child protection processes and shall be engaging the expertise of child psychologists to ensure we translate this incidence to benefit the children in our care.
We are therefore not going to give room to sentiments that adopt less empathy in terms of the effects of the present situation on our children. We implore all of us as stakeholders to work together as build-up partners, rather than pull-down enablers. For every comment we make in this delicate period, we should remember that those involved are children and as such, they deserve our very responsible management of this situation in order not to affect their mental health, as we seek to clear this temporary fog in the path of their growth. This is why irrespective of currently charged emotions, we need to endeavor to keep our heads in focus, while carrying the authorities along in manners that leave nothing hidden, especially as we had nothing to hide.
We are proud to reassure our stakeholders that no rape of anyone or the administration of a pregnancy test on any child took place on our watch. For emphasis, only a COVID post travel test was conducted on the returning delegation of our students, in compliance with COVID-19 travel protocols, at the Life Centre Medical Services on March 21, 2022 at School Hall, Opebi.
This was through the nose swab test as consistent with COVID-19 health protocols. We trust that this can be verified at the source provided. To insinuate that a pregnancy test was carried out on a student, for whatever reason therefore, is a highly unfortunate conjecture.
Nevertheless, our processes would be readily opened up for the scrutiny of regulators and stakeholders at the earliest indication of this, to enable the course of scientific or forensic inspections. We are certain this will lay to rest any shred of doubt or hazy optic that the present flurry of activities might have occasioned.
Finally, we assure parents and guardians that we take unequivocal cognisance of the duty of care entrusted on us and we would never betray this, as we are more than ever resolved to work harder at keeping and building the trust reposed in us. We refuse to indulge in or give credence to the sentimental contrivances seeking to fuel this crisis the more with various renditions that have taken over the social media space. The only account we are obligated to render is how well the children entrusted in our care have been managed, as we have excelled in doing in this past 45 years of our existence as an educational institution, and to ensure that in this whole development, the only winners here shall be this children.