Chaos and Fury: Teacher Flogs Student To Death, Students Protest
A massive protest broke out at Araromi Ilogbo Secondary School in Oko Afo, Lagos, on Friday, as pupils of the school demanded justice for their colleague who died after being allegedly flogged by a teacher.
The deceased pupil, identified as David Babadipo, 16, was said to have been ill for some days and was flogged by the school’s vice principal, Mr Oluwale, on Thursday, when he wanted to go out to buy something. He was rushed to a hospital where he was confirmed dead.
The news of his death sparked outrage among his fellow pupils, who stormed the school premises and started throwing stones and other objects at the teachers and the school buildings. Some of the pupils also took to the streets and blocked the Badagry Expressway, causing traffic gridlock and chaos.
A video of the protest, which went viral on social media, showed the pupils running around and shouting slogans such as “No justice, no peace” and “Oluwale must go”. A voice in the background could be heard narrating the circumstances that led to Babadipo’s death.
Some of the social media users who commented on the video expressed sympathy for the deceased pupil and his family, while others condemned the alleged brutality of the teacher and called for his arrest and prosecution.
One of the commenters, Mama Sassy D, wrote, “This is my vicinity. They have started rioting already. The said teacher might not survive this period.”
However, another commenter, Esther Wusu, refuted the claim that Babadipo was flogged to death, and said that he had been sick since Tuesday and his parents did not take him to the hospital. She also said that Mr Oluwale did not beat him at all, as he was not a teacher but a vice principal.
“First and foremost, Mr Oluwale is a Vice Principal and he didn’t beat him for not paying attention in class because he doesn’t teach, he didn’t even beat him at all. That child has (sic) been sick since Tuesday and the parent didn’t take him to the hospital. It got worse yesterday afternoon after the break and they called his parent to come to pick him up,” she wrote.
Meanwhile, another Facebook user, Bangose Jide, confirmed that the case had been reported to the Morogbo Police Station, and said that Babadipo was a native of Ipoti Ekiti State.
“Teacher beat (sic) David Babadipo, 16-year-old to death at Araromi-Ilogbo Senior Secondary School, Oko-Afo. The teacher is named Mr Olawale, (a) vice principal. The case has been reported to the Morogbo Police Station at Badagry Expressway, Lagos State. David Babadipo was a native of Ipoti Ekiti State,” he wrote.
The Lagos State Police Command has not yet issued an official statement on the incident, as the Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, did not respond to the text message sent by our correspondent as of the time of filing this report.
Efforts to also get the school authorities to comment on the matter were futile, as calls made to the contact phone number failed to go through and a text message sent to it by our correspondent was not replied to.
