Around noon on Friday, May 28, 2021, students and staff of St. Claire’s Anglican Girls’ Grammar School, Offa in the Offa local government area of Kwara state were greeted to a rather strange happening, so shocking that there was confusion within the school environment.
Nigerian Tribune gathered that some students of the school reportedly heard strange voices, and ran out of their classes and school hostels, fell and rolled on the ground.
The school authorities, said to have been confounded by the strange development, according to the Senior Principal, Mrs. F.B. Ogunwole, asked parents and guardians to come and evacuate their children/wards. Also, the school was said to have been closed for a short time, following the strange incident.
‘A similar incident in 1978’
Findings by Nigerian Tribune revealed that there was a similar occurrence in the school in 1978, and clergymen had reportedly intervened with prayers. One of the old students of the school, simply identified as Mrs. Agbede, said she experienced the same strange development during her school days.
Explaining the incident in a statement, spokesman of the Kwara command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Babawale Afolabi, said: “When we contacted the school, Mrs. Ogunwole informed us that the incident took the school management by surprise, adding that she suspected ‘demons’, as the same ugly incident happened in 1978.
“A student, Uthman Mariam, 17, also said she saw some girls dressed in different colours and calling her to join them, but she refused to answer their calls as they wanted to force her to mingle with them. That was why she was shouting and fell unconsciously on the floor.”
When Nigerian Tribune visited the school, the vice principal (administration) who refused to disclose her name, denied that there was a strange happening in the school on the said day.
Describing the report as fake news, the vice principal said normal school activities have since resumed on Monday after the incident on Friday.
‘Similar incidents have been reported in schools across Nigeria’
In a dramatic twist, the clergyman in charge of Diocese of Offa, Church of Nigeria Anglican Communion, Offa, the Right Reverend Olusola Akanbi, who is the proprietor of the school, said the spiritual occurrence actually took place in the school.
A press statement made available by the church before he granted an interview with Nigerian Tribune, reads: “On Friday, 28th May, 2021 there was news from social and media houses of demon invasion which made some students heard strange voices at St Clare’s Anglican Girls’ Grammar School, Offa, and the incident led to the shutdown of the school because of pandemonium.
“There was manifestation of strange spirit at the said hour, an incident which led to pandemonium in the community. The school community, before this incident, went into 3 days of prayer and fasting praying for progress and development of the school — the result of the prayers may have been these manifestations.
“To douse the tension, the school was closed for the day and not a total shutdown of the school as erroneously reported in the media. The Lord Bishop of Offa Diocese, who is also the proprietor, the Rt. Reverend Dr. Olusola Akanbi, met with the principals and about 10 other staff on Sunday 30/5/2021 for briefing and prayers.
“Since the occurrence was spiritual, the Bishop, the Rt Rev Dr Olusola Akanbi, led a group of priests to the school at 7am on Monday 31/5/2021 on a prayer walk and prayers to sanitise the community as well as for students and staff. The Bishop also addressed both staff and students of the school on Monday morning 31/5/2021. This encouraged them to continue with the school activities as they were glad that the situation is under control. The school has since resumed her normal activities.”
The church cautioned the press to “painstakingly seek for correct information”, and urged the government to “bring back to the schools, spiritual activities as the said demonic invasion is not a strange occurrence in schools all over the country”.
“It has been reported in schools owned by community, Christian and Muslim. Provision for counsellors be made to offer good counsels to the students. Parents should monitor their wards and take proactive steps should they notice anything strange with them. The school community should continue to watch the students; necessary counsel should be given to the students when the need arises,” the statement added.
‘It’s not ordinary’
Speaking with the Nigerian Tribune in Offa, Bishop Akanbi described the occurrence in the school as a spiritual matter, saying, “It’s not ordinary. So, the reflection of what you see happening in the society must manifest in every organ, setting, sector of the community. The happening is not normal.”
When asked if the church leadership could have been informed by the school authorities before sending the students home in order not to cause panic, the cleric said: “This is something that they were not expecting. When you’re not expecting anything, you take action as what comes to your mind at that point in time. It’s a spiritual matter and not something that we can say, ‘let’s call the police and make arrest’.
“So, when the staff saw that these are students and parents have control over their children, there’s a limit to what they can do to address the situation. However, clergymen were called upon on that Friday and they prayed for them. After that they must go home because they belonged to families. This school was not shut down, but the students were only asked to go home. Again, it was a Friday around 12 noon and the school closes 1:00pm on Fridays.”
‘It’s a reflection of what the society has become’
Bishop Akanbi went on to speak on the impact of such an incident, as well as how the school effectively managed the situation. According to the cleric, the manifestation in the school points to the state of affairs in the country, which he said calls for serious action on quality leadership and prayers.
He said: “This is not about tagging demons to St. Clare’s school. It only depends on how it is handled. And you will see more. I’m not predicting evil or being pessimistic. It’s a reflection of what the society has become. I know you know that Yahoo boys now have Yahoo boys’ parents’ association. Who are these children? Do you think they are of 50 years of age? Are they not secondary school boys? They can go to any length to get money. So, what I’m saying is that it’s a reflection of the chaotic situation we’ve found ourselves in Nigeria and the country is on fire. Nobody can claim to know where we are going.
“Parents understand the situation. They know it’s spiritual. I don’t have the statistics, but I know in Offa here, muslims outnumber christians in population. The muslim students are more than christian students in the school. And when you talk of christians, you talk of different denominations. They know it’s not something instilled in them by anybody; it’s spiritual. We’ve prayed for them and we know that the battle is already won.”
‘What happened was manifestation of God’s power’
Speaking on the way forward, the cleric called for encouragement of true spirituality in the country.
“We should instill the fear of God in the lives of our children and the entire family, especially knowing the fact that we’re not going to be here forever. I describe the occurrence as manifestations of power of God rather than that of the devil. It’s all part of the effect of fasting and prayer we had before the happening.
“I congratulate all of those who were delivered because the tree has been uprooted in their lives. However, such ones need spiritual check-up once in a while if their parents so support. We are here to do the check-up for them. They only need to tell their parents to meet the class teacher, who will get the ministers of God to do the spiritual check-up.
“But generally speaking, we have blessed the entire compound, prayed and we believe that no demon can stand where Jesus stands. I want to assure all that everything like that is over. They should continue with their academic activities. Tell everyone in and around town that the school is in session. I told the students when I met with them and the staff last Friday that, ‘When they ask you as students of St. Claire school about happening in your school, answer them by saying that what happened was manifestation of the power of God’,” he said.
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