Lagos silent on school probe months after teacher sodomised pupil

Two months after a 10-year-old pupil of Blessed Peace School in Egbeda, Alimosho Local Government Area of Lagos State, was allegedly sodomised by his teacher, the Lagos State Government has yet to disclose the findings of its investigation.

This is just as the survivor’s mother, Seedo Joseph, expressed frustration about the management, accusing the school of being “unsympathetic” to the family following the incident.

The suspect, Prosper Louis, allegedly lured the survivor to a location on October 18, 2024, under the pretence of taking him to a spelling bee and art competition, promising that he could win millions of naira and potentially travel abroad.

Although Louis has been remanded in prison until January 23, 2025, when the case is scheduled to be heard, the state government’s investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident, particularly within the school premises, remains unknown despite the promise of an investigation.

In an exclusive interview with PUNCH on Saturday, Joseph accused the school of abandonment, stating that she had been solely responsible for covering expenses such as transporting the police officers and fuelling their vehicle, adding that “the school did not support me with a dime.”

She added that although the principal had accompanied her during the trial, she was dissatisfied with how the school handled the matter, particularly its failure to provide information about the teacher and his background.

During an earlier interview with PUNCH Metro, the proprietress, who declined to disclose her name, said, “The teacher has already been detained and is no longer at the school. That’s all we know about the matter for now; he is no longer employed with us.”

Our correspondent’s further questions were ignored before the call was abruptly ended. Follow-up messages sent via WhatsApp also went unanswered.

Meanwhile, the spokesperson for the state Ministry of Education, Mr. Kayode Sutton, informed our correspondent that the relevant department had been notified and an investigation would commence.

“Now that we know this, we have forwarded the information to the appropriate authorities, especially the Office of Education Quality Assurance. They will take immediate action, investigate, and visit the school,” Sutton had stated.

When contacted on Tuesday, the head of the OEQA, Remi Abdul, stated that the status of the probe would be shared with PUNCH Metro soon.

“We are looking into it since the memo has been written to us. The progress report on it will be made available to you soon.”