The parents of 14-year-old Juliana, a student of the Federal Government Girls College, Sagamu, Ogun State, has accused the management of the institution of trying to cover up the alleged assault meted against their daughter on the school premises.
According to parents, Bishop Abiodun Ositelu and his wife, Rosaline, Juliana was assaulted by six of her colleagues.
The clergyman and his wife accused the school of treating the assault against their daughter with levity, while adding that she was injured on the face.
The father of the assaulted student said he became suspicious when he saw a scar on his daughter’s face when he paid her a visit in school.
Juliana, a JSS 3 pupil, revealed to her father that six of her colleagues assaulted her because she refused to obey their commands, upon inquiry to ascertain the cause.
The clergy said he was denied a chance to take his daughter to the hospital for treatment and added that the matter was swept under the carpet my the school management.
He said, “I went to my daughter’s school to visit her on their visiting day in May 2023 and I was surprised to see that her face had been bruised seriously. I asked her what happened and she told me that six of her housemates in school beat her because she refused to do things that they wanted.
“I informed the principal of the school, Adenike Olodo, and was told that they would launch an investigation into the matter but the situation has remained the same. The school management is taking this matter with levity and if anything should happen to my daughter, I won’t take it lightly.
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“The principal told me they have had issues of pupils trying to coerce others to join cults or get involved in sexual activities. I have tried on many occasions to get them to investigate this matter but they have been giving me excuses, they don’t even pick up my calls or reply to my messages again.”
On her part, the mother of the victim, Rosaline, said the school denied her to see her daughter when she visited there over the incident the next day.
She added, “They told my husband that they would investigate what was going on but since that time, nothing was done. My daughter’s face is scarred following the constant beatings.”
Juliana, while narrating her ordeal to our correspondent, said, “They always beat me; they told me that if I don’t do what they want, they will not stop and when I asked them what they wanted me to do, they said that they would tell me later.”
Contacted for a reaction on the matter, the Vice Principal of the school, whose name could be identified simply as Mrs Olayinka, proved abortive as calls made to her phone number were unanswered.
She had yet to respond to a text message sent to her number regarding the case as of the time this report was filed.
The Director of Press and Public Relations, Federal Ministry of Education, Benjamin Goong, when contacted, said, “When I got the details of the matter from the parents of the pupil, I told them to petition the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, so that the matter would be investigated promptly.”