Gang rape: School authorities will be probed

THE Lagos State Ministry of Education on Monday said it would investigate the role played by the management and staff of the schools whose students were involved in an attempted gang rape last week.

This was disclosed by the Public Relations Officer of the Ministry, Mr Segun Ogundeji, while speaking with Tribune Online via telephone.

According to him, the investigation would be “holistic”. He said the Ministry would also consider reports of ongoing investigations by the police and other agencies.

He said, “We are aware that the police have ruled out rape, but we are also waiting for the whole report to be ready. On our own part, we will also probe the roles played by the schools involved. Were they aware of the incident that day? Was it the first time, or has it been happening? Has any attempt been made in the past to report the action to the authorities if it is true that such a thing has happened before?”

In a related development, the Permanent Secretary of the State Ministry of Education, Mr Adesina Odeyemi, also on Monday described as untrue reports that there are books in the school curriculum which encourage immorality.

The Permanent Secretary said a particular Social Studies text mentioned on various social media platforms was never a part of the curriculum.

He said, “This book without prejudice to the intentions of the writer and the opinion of its publishers has not been reviewed, recommended nor approved for use in any part of Lagos State public and private secondary schools.

“Therefore any attempt to attribute the unruly behaviour of a few students of Ikoyi and Falomo Senior Schools to any book promoting immorality within the school system is the peak of disservice to a government that has committed both human and material resources to raising the standard of education in the State.”

A certain Michale Matthew had, last week, recounted in social media post an account of how boys from Ireti Grammar School had attacked female students from Falomo Senior High School and attempted to rape them in broad daylight.

“I look a bit closely at a crowd of boys who have surrounded two persons on the floor who appear to be fighting… It’s actually a boy trying to force himself on a girl with his trousers partly down and the boys are cheering him on,” Matthew said.

“People are looking and some security guards in the office near us are recording it. I open my car in disbelief and shout at the boys to break it up, while shouting at my security and the second driver to assist me. I walk towards them and as I make my way towards them, I see another group and this time they have cornered one of the girls who falls while running from them…

“I see her kicked down, she bravely pushes herself up and another guy tries to clear her legs, and she lunges at him, and then a guy takes a pair of scissors in his hands and with one swoop, tears her skirt from the bottom and also a part of the black ‘Spanx shorts’ she has underneath.”