THE Lagos State government has shut down all Chrisland School branches in the state indefinitely over the emergence of a sex tape involving students of the school when they went on an excursion to Dubai in United Arab Emirates (UAE), recently. In the video clip posted online, the school children, some of whom are said to be around 10 years, are seen engaging in sexual activity in a place that looks like a hotel room while one records the scene.
The mother of the only female student involved in the act had alleged that her child, was raped and also alleged that the school management was negligent and attempted to cover up the incident.
The state government, however, shut down the schools pending the outcome on the ongoing investigations.
The state government, in a statement made available on Monday by the Head of Public Affairs unit of the state’s Ministry of Education, Mr Ganiu Lawal, said, “It is pertinent to note that all allegations are being investigated by the relevant ministries, departments and agencies, including Ministry of Education, Office of Education Quality Assurance, Ministry of Youth and Social Development, Ministry of Justice and the Lagos Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency, whilst the criminal allegations have been referred to the state’s Commissioner of Police.
“In view of the allegations, we are committed to ensuring that adequate medical and psycho-social support is provided.
“Lagos State is committed to safety and child protection, especially in ensuring that all child-centred institutions within the state formulate and implement policies and systems that are compliant with the Executive Order (NO.EO/ AA08 of 2016) on Lagos State Safeguarding and Child Protection Programme.
“We also use this medium to remind the public that any person who engages in any visual depiction of sexually explicit involving a child commits an offence and is liable to custodial sentence of 14 years.
“So, in the meantime, all Chrisland Schools within Lagos State are hereby closed, pending further investigations.”
In a similar development, the police in Lagos State have begun investigations into the circumstances surrounding the viral video. Commissioner of Police, Abiodun Alabi assured that the police will not only identify the culprits, but also ensure that justice prevails.
The image maker in charge of the state police command, Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed the move by the police in a statement signed by him on Monday afternoon and made available to journalists. The Lagos police said, “The attention of the Lagos State Police Command has been drawn to an alleged rape video purportedly depicting students of Chrisland School, Lagos, going viral on social media.
“The command has commenced investigations into the matter with a view to establishing the identities of the players in the video, the true incident in the video, the geographical location of the incident, the alleged threat to life against a student of the school and circumstances surrounding the alleged repeated pregnancy tests conducted on a student without parental consent.
“The command is equally taking cognizance of the cybercrime angle to the whole episode and would not hesitate to enlist the support of the INTERPOL should the need arise.
“For a holistic and unbiased investigation, the command shall be working with relevant ministries, departments, agencies and non-governmental organisations.
“The Lagos State Commissioner of Police has assured that due diligence will be observed to ensure that there is no miscarriage of justice.”
Meanwhile, Chrisland School has explained why it suspended the female student involved in the leaked video. In a statement dated April 14, 2022 and signed by the Head Teacher, Mrs G.I. Azike, the school also stressed the action taken to resolve the case as it categorically stated that the action of the student was a ‘truth and dare’ game.
The statement, titled, ‘Indefinite suspension of … (the female student)’, partly read, “It was discovered that your daughter was involved in improper behaviour during the recently concluded World School Games in Dubai with a few of her counterparts, who willfully participated in a game they called ‘Truth or Dare’, a game which led her and a few other co-learners to carry out an immoral act after the lights-out instruction was given. “In line with our core values centred on discipline, Chrisland Schools have zero tolerance for any improper behaviour and misconduct.
“A full-scale investigation has been done and the parents of all the culpable learners have been duly notified of the necessary punishment meted out on the learners.
“However, in the course of the school’s efforts to see how best we can help…who was a major participant in the whole incident, every effort to inform you as her parents about the incident and ensure that this improper behaviour is permanently corrected, has proved to be futile.
“We cannot as a school condone such.
“Consequently, (the student) is hereby placed on an indefinite suspension until you as the parents ensure that she is punished, adequately counselled and rehabilitated.”