Deeper Life Boarding School, Akwa Ibom State — — In December 2020, a woman has alleged that her 11-year-old son was sexually molested severally by fellow students in a college in Akwa Ibom State, South-south Nigeria.
The woman, Deborah Okezie, posted a video on Facebook where she said some senior students in the college, Deeper Life High School, Uyo, “habitually inserted their fingers and toes in his son’s anus.”
She said her son was frequently starved and beaten up by the senior students.
The victim was moved by the school principal from a hostel where other junior students stayed to another hotel filled with senior students because he was bedwetting, Mrs Okezie said in the clip which has gone viral on Facebook.
The victim looked terrified in the video. The mother prodded him to speak up about his ordeal.
“They said if he complained he will be a dead man,” Mrs Okezie said.
“Please, help me share this (video) until it gets to the appropriate authorities.”
“They will remove his boxer and push their legs and hands into his anus,” the woman said.
The boy said the senior students threatened to kill him if he reported the matter to the school principal.
In another clip, the boy, wearing his school uniform, was seen throwing up inside a car when he was being taken away from the school by his mother.
Mrs Okezie said she decided to visit the school “when she dreamt about her son and felt that all is not well”.
“I had a dream, I saw my son waving me goodbye. I told my husband I have to go to the school, that this dream is not right, he said let’s pray. I said to him prayers are not enough, I have to go to the school and see what is happening,” she said.
Mrs Okezie said she reported her son’s ordeal to the school principal who assured her that the boy would be returned to junior hostel.
“Look at a child I sent to school, he came back with a broken anus.
“People who have children in boarding school don’t know what these children go through, boarding school of these days is not like the boarding school of those days,” she said.
REACTIONS
Reacting, the Akwa Ibom State Governor, Udom Emmanuel, ordered an investigation into the allegation.
The state government, Sunday, 20th December expressed concern over Mrs Okezie’s allegations.
Commissioner for Information in the state, Ini Ememobong, said Governor Emmanuel has directed the commissioner for education “to immediately investigate these complaints and take necessary action”.
“The State Government is committed to the protection of children wherever they may be within its jurisdiction,” Mr Ememobong said.
Also, the Executive Director, Centre for Creative Act Education, who doubles as a filmmaker and ambassador to ActionAid, Hilda Dokubo, has urged the Minister of Education to close down Deeper Life High School till an investigation is completed on the incident.
She made the call during a dialogue with Nollywood practitioners in collaboration with ActionAid Nigeria on the role of Nollywood in curbing sexual harassment/gender-based violence within the industry.
She further appealed to the state government to ensure that every child who was in that hostel be sent to the reformatory for psychiatric evaluation and be interviewed to find out how many more have been assaulted and if some of them were victims of the assault.
The school management later said in a statement on Monday, 21st December that they were investigating the allegation.
“We want to assure the general public that investigations into the case have commenced and no culprit, whether staff or student, will be spared if found culpable.
“As an interim measure and to underscore the seriousness we attach to higher superintending values, the school principal has been suspended summarily even as further investigations continue,” the school said.
Deeper Life High School reaffirmed that the institution is built on the core values of godliness and excellence and that it would not tolerate any act of molestation of any student.
“We believe that parents or guardians enroll their wards in our schools all over the country because of the strong perception that ours offers a sure-footed platform for moral armaments and academic excellence,” the management of the school said.
Later on, the principal of the where Okezie’s boy was said to have been sexually molested by some senior students, was suspended.
Deeper Life High School, with 21 campuses across Nigeria, is owned by a foremost Pentecostal church, The Deeper Christian Life Ministry. The school has its headquarters in Lagos, South-west Nigeria.
The school said on its website that as a part of its philosophy, “It is committed to providing the highest academic standards, cultivating sound leadership skills and vision, as well as enriching lives through spiritual development.”
“The aim of all these is to produce critical thinking and Christ-honouring students who will positively and profoundly impact the larger society,” it added.
The Uyo campus of the co-educational school took off in 2016. The principal is Ndidi Solomon.
The school promised to make public the outcome of its investigations.
Moreso, in a recent video, Mrs Deborah Okezie cries out for help, alleges intimidation from state commissioner of Education.
