Chrisland Schools: Police Probe Pupil’s Dubai Rape Allegation

According to a report by The Nation, police has probed pupil’s Dubai rape allegation over Chrisland Schools.

The Lagos State Police Command said it has commenced investigation into the alleged rape of a 10-year-old pupil of Chrisland Schools.

The state government also announced the closure of all Chrisland schools in the state pending the outcome of investigations.

A viral video purportedly recorded during a Truth or Dare game by pupils of the school while in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for the World School Games, showed the minors engaging in sexual activity.

The video attracted public outcry after music executive, Ubi Franklin, in a series of tweets, alleged that the girl was raped and her parents kept in the dark by Chrisland Schools.

Police spokesman Benjamin Hundeyin said the command had commenced investigations.

“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.

“The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, CP Abiodun Alabi, has assured that due diligence will be observed to ensure that there is no miscarriage of justice.”

Announcing temporary closure of all Chrisland schools, the government said all allegations were being investigated by relevant MDAs including Ministry of Education, Office of Education Quality Assurance, Ministry of Youth and Social Development, Ministry of Justice and the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency.

It said the criminal allegations have been escalated to the Commissioner of Police.

“We also use this medium to remind the public that any person, who engages in any visual depiction of sexually explicit conduct involving a child, commits an offence and is liable to custodial sentence of 14 years. This includes “producing, distributing, receiving or possessing an image of child pornography.

“In the meantime, all Chrisland Schools within Lagos State are hereby closed, pending further investigations.”

On Tuesday, Franklin shared a video recording of the girl’s mother where she accused the school of conducting three pregnancy tests on her daughter without their consent.

The woman also claimed that the school kept them in the dark on what truly transpired in Dubai and only told her during a meeting that her daughter and a boy kissed.

The aggrieved mother, who said the video was only brought to her notice by another parent, said the school suspended her daughter when her family started raising issues, adding that one Mrs. Azike, to whom she handed over her child, also stopped taking her calls when they realised she had known the truth.

The woman said: “My child attended Chrisland School, VGC. I am crying out to everyone to help me out. About a month ago, I was on my way out of Lagos when I got a call from Mrs. Azike, the head teacher from Chrisland School.

“She called me that she needed to see me and I told her I would come when I returned. So, I went there two days after. When I got there, I met two other women in her office; one introduced herself as Mrs. Kemi from Chrisland headquarters and that they just wanted me to know that my daughter, who I left in their care and took to Dubai, had a kiss with a boy.

“They said they found out that they got the kissing game from Truth and Dare. I said OK, if that’s that, I will take her phone away from her so that she won’t practice it again because that was what they wanted me to do. I asked if there was any other thing. She said no. Even Mrs. Kemi told me that I should not tell my husband, that it is not everything women disclose to their husbands.

“I said okay as long as this is just kissing, I will caution my daughter. I didn’t hear anything from them again. The girl was going to school. I thought everything was fine not until after two or three weeks that we had the conversation, Mrs. Azike now sent me a link that she wanted us to have a zoom meeting by 5pm.

“I said okay. By the time I logged on and didn’t see anybody, I called and she said she will contact the rest. I realised the meeting was with members of the board of directors. I didn’t know the names of participants and I asked that they introduce themselves. One said his name was Mr. Akin and he was the one leading the meeting and was speaking in parables.

“I said if it extends more than this (kiss) my husband will definitely know about it. So we finished the meeting without me getting a clue. The day after, a parent called me that she needed to see me because it was urgent. So, I went to her house and she said there’s a trend in Chrisland that I did not know.

“She told me to see the video that all the parents were aware. I began to beat my daughter.

“My daughter then opened up and said Mrs. Azike threatened her not to speak out. She narrated how the school abandoned them in a hotel and how she got into this. They have been sending people to have meetings with my daughter without our consent.

“I am begging Nigerians to help me because they were trying to push us out of the way and my daughter is going insane. Please help me fellow Nigerians.

“On the part that Chrisland played to cover up this issue, on Mother’s Day, we were all there, not knowing that they had other people that came to interrogate my daughter. After I left, they took my daughter elsewhere. “Again they had been threatening my daughter that if she spoke, they would kill her, that it is a man’s world. Every day I forced her to go to school she would always feel reluctant. Her class teacher would always call her a useless, stupid girl in front of other children.

“Please help me. They took her to do pregnancy test without us knowing and lied to us that they were taking her for COVID-19 test. They took her almost three times. After all of that, they sent her a suspension letter.

“After I handed her over to you to go to Dubai and we paid a lot for that trip, you got there and left them uncared for. Please, Nigerians help me. When I was asking my daughter for explanation, she said that they went out in the morning for breakfast and one of the boys Kachi begged her to lend him her phone charger and she did.

“Later in the evening after dinner, Kachi called her room to come and get her charger. When she went to the place, one of them opened the door and told her to take her charger from the toilet. It was from there they now hijacked her and told her to take a substance after being under the influence of drugs and after that she didn’t know what she was doing again and she was on the boys then one of them made a video and posted on social media.”

Chrisland is not new to sexual controversy. In 2018, a court convicted a 46-year-old teacher of the school, Adegboyega Adenekan, for raping a two-year-old female pupil.

In a suspension letter signed by the head teacher, G. I. Azike, the school told the parents that their ward was a “major and wilful participant” in a Truth or Dare game with other male pupils, and that she “was involved in improper behaviour during the recently concluded World School Games in Dubai”.

The school did not state the nature of punishment meted out to the male student involved or the others in the room when the act was done.

There have been reactions to the viral sex tape of the Chrisland Schools pupils.

One Dr. Dipo Awojide said “Chrisland School has a duty of care for their pupils and students. They failed to enforce this on that Dubai trip. They might get sued by the parents. The state government should ensure schools have policies per duty of care and such policies should be enforced.”

Japheth Omojuwa Omojuwa argued: “They were in the care of the school when the incident happened. The school should take responsibility for that. In their letter to her parents, they took no responsibility whatsoever. They deserve every smoke they get,” said Omojuwa.

For @AmaraRadio, the school erred by not inviting and informing the parents about the true incident. She insisted that the incident was not raped but “spoilt children doing what they have done before, but this time, videoing it.”

Chibuzo Nwa Emeagwara faulted the parents for failing to bring up their kids responsibly.

Deputy National President, National Parent Teacher Association of Nigeria (NAPTAN), Chief Adeolu Ogunbanjo urged parents not to leave their responsibility in the hands of schools or teachers.

The school issued a statement last night, affirming the priorities they place on their pupils.

Chrisland also denied that any pupil of their was raped or had pregnancy test andimistered on her.

‘We are proud to reassure our stakeholders that no rape of anyone or the administration of a pregnancy test on any child took place on our watch. For emphasis, only a COVID post travel test was conducted on the returning delegation of our students, in compliance with COVID-19 travel protocols, at the Life Centre Medical Services on March 21, 2022 at School Hall, Opebi,” the statement said.