Lagos school where 3-year-old pupil was assaulted may be shut down if…
Christ Mitots School in Ikorodu has been a subject of controversy since a video of a teacher, Stella Nwadigo, assaulting a three-year-old pupil, Abayomi Michael, surfaced on social media.
The clip, which sparked outrage online got many Nigerians calling for the arrest of the teacher, while others called on the Lagos State Government to shut down the school.
Even though many Nigerians do not support the idea of the school being shut, the Lagos State Government has announced its readiness to assess the school after which recommendations would be made.
Speaking on Arise TV’s The Morning Show on Thursday, January 9, 2025, Titilola Vivour-Adeniyi, the Executive Secretary of the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency (DSVA) said a task force has already been sent to the school.
“We have a Lagos State Safeguarding and Child Protection Task Force, which basically comprises a top-level representation of relevant ministries such as the Ministry of Youth and Social Development, the Office of Education Quality Assurance, the Lagos State Safety Commission, the DSVA, Child Protect Network and the police.
“In this particular situation, officers are already on their way to the school. We go as a team to the school. The suspect has been removed from that environment but we are more concerned about the structures in that school to ensure that we don’t have a repeat incident,” Vivour-Adeniyi explained.
Continuing, the DSVA boss said, the team’s purpose of visiting the school would be to carry out thorough assessments in terms of quality, and safety compliance as laid down in the rules and regulations of all the agencies.
“As a team we go to such an institution. Different organizations are looking for different things. For instance, the Office of Education Quality Assurance would want to know if the school is registered with the state government. Safety Commission wants to know if safety measures are in place, Ministry of Youth and Social Development would want to know if the actions of the offending employee affected other students in that institution. We want to know if the school has adopted a safeguarding and child protection policy,” she said.
Citing a recent recommendation by the task force, Vivour-Adeniyi said if after the assessment it’s established that the management of Christ Mitots School violates the Lagos State safety guidelines, the team may recommend the closure of the school to the state government.
“For instance, last year, the task force visited over 34 schools, we received reports from those schools. Our recommendation was that some of those schools should be shut down. 12 of those schools were shut down because of safety infractions. That’s the highest level of recommendation we can give,” the DSVA boss explained.
Meanwhile, the school authority has condemned Nwadigbo’s action and also suspended her.
In a statement, the institution assured the public that the teacher would remain suspended until the ongoing investigation is concluded.
Vanguard News
