…AS PRINCIPAL ALLEGEDLY SHIELDS SUSPECT
By Okosun Dennis
A student of Government Technical College, Ikorodu is laying critically ill from injuries sustained from an attack by a classmate identified as Master Khalid Sanusi on Tuesday, February 11, 2025.
The victim, Master Sodiq Ganiu, a student of the same school, was injured with a technical instrument “T-Square” over a space where they were expected to engage in drawing work.
Disclosing this in a petition titled: “PETITION AGAINST KHALID SANUSI FOR ATTACKING GANIU SODIQ (14 yrs) WITH A WEAPON CAUSING GRIEVOUS BODILY INJURY, AND THE PRINCIPAL, VICE-PRINCIPALS AND STAFF OF GOVERNMENT TECHNICAL COLLEGE IKORODU FOR ATTEMPTING TO COVER UP THE ACCUSED AND FACILITATE HIS ESCAPE FROM THE POLICE” to the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, CP Ishola Olarenwaju, and to the Director General, Office of Education Quality Assurance, Alausa Secretariat, dated Friday, 14th February, 2025 Barrister Olumide Kayode-Omosebi, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Gnosis Help Initiative explained that the severity of the injury has made it impossible for the victim to see with the affected eye.
Giving further update on the injury on Saturday morning, he revealed that the 14 years old boy, who was initially admitted to Ikorodu General Hospital, has been transfered to Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Ikeja with a view to salvaging the worsening condition of his eye from going blind.
Explaining how the victim was attacked, Barr Olumide, Master Khalid Sanusi gave an insight. Sanusi was said to have first broken the victim’s technical board, threw it away, before he launched an attack on his head with the T-square which instantly left him with a deep laceration just above his right eye.
“He started bleeding heavily and was rushed to Dele Hospital beside the School (Government Technical College, Ikorodu), by Mrs Olugbade, a teacher in the school, who also notified the victim’s mother, before the Principal of the School, Mr Lateef Olufowobi paid the hospital bill of N35,000.
“The following day, the the mother of the Victim, Mrs Bose Ganiu went to the School to approach the Principal as her son’s condition was getting worse. To her chagrin, her son’s assailant was in school. Her attempt to apprehend him was rebuffed by one of the teachers.”
Unable to realise her aim, she left the school premises unhappy especially seeing that the school wasn’t doing nothing about it.
However, on Thursday, 13th February, Mrs Bose Ganiu reported the matter to the Force Special Unit (FSU) of the Igbogbo Police Station Ikorodu. As a result, the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) issued a Letter of Invitation to the School Authorities, which was turned down by one of the Vice Principals identified as Mr Adebanjo. He neither received nor acknowledged the letter from the DPO.
It was learnt that due to the lacklustre attitude of the school authorities and the lackadaisical disposition to Master Sodiq Ganiu, members (volunteers) of the “Gnosis Help Initiative” organisation on Friday, 14th February, mobilized to meet with the DPO to intervene in the matter.
They, thereafter, in company of the DPO approached the school demanding that they produce the Assailant, Khalid Sanusi to the Police.
As a result, the DPO, who was described as a professional breed, was said to have led his team to the school, where they met a stiff opposition by some teachers spearheaded mainly the Vice Principal (Special Duties), who delayed the team from seeing the Principal.
Besides, the Principal was said to have shown lukewarm attitude to the plight of the victim, who has been undergoing excruciating pains. Despite that, instead of exploiting the school laws to ensure punitive measures are taken, they allowed the Assailant to continue to attend classes.
According to the petitioner, lamented that instead of the Principal to empathize with the family of the victim and cooperate with the DPO to ensure justice is served, the Principal who had earlier rejected a direct invitation from the DPO, started raising curses on the DPO.
Further inquiry revealed that this is not the first time that students of the Technical College, Ikorodu would brutalize or bully fellow students without any repercussion.
It was also gathered that it was a common phenomenon to see students of the school bruised and injured by fellow students. Each time parents stood up to challenge such development, the same school authority has always failed to act in addressing such malfeasances hence it has grown in wits and bounds.
“While we continue to treat Master Sodiq Ganiu of his injuries, we kept hearing from other parents how their children were brutalised in the same school without consequences from their abusers and bullies, and those who deared to report to the school authorities were never acted upon.
“The gross disregard exhibited by the Principal, Vice-Principals and some teachers of the Government Technical College, Ikorodu is an indication of alleged cover up by the school authorities over the bullying, assaults and battery of its students by other students.
“We don’t believe that a child has to die before action is taken against this School Authorities in the person of the Principal, Vice Principals (especially Special Duties, Mr Adebanjo etc) whose negligent actions has led to the continuous abuse and bullying of children under their watch and their continued cover up of the injuries sustained by innocent children who are now victims of the system,” Barr Olumide added.
Meanwhile, the petitioner is appealing to the various authorities (Nigerian Police, Lagos State Government and other concerned individuals) to ensure that the perpetrator(s) is brought to book and justice given to Master Sodiq Ganiu and all the victims of the Government Technical College Ikorodu brutalities.
It would be recalled that bullying leading to bodily harm is becoming a recurrent decimal in some Secondary Schools across the country. In most cases, leading to death of a student or disfiguring of the body of some due to severe injury just as suffered by Master Sodiq Ganiu.
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