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By Goodluck Ikiebe.
An NGO, the Citizens Advocacy for Social & Economic Rights (CASER) has called for the immediate shut down of Premier Academy, Lugbe, Abuja, over alleged rape and subsequent death of Karen-Happuch, a female boarding student of the Academy.
It said in a statement signed by the Executive Director, Mr Frank Tietie, in Abuja, that Karen-Happuch was allegedly raped while she was in the custody of her School, Premier Academy, Lugbe, Abuja.
“Under the legal principles of in loco parentis and occupier’s liability, the school is expected to take full responsibility for what happened to the girl-child that was under its custody.”
The statement noted that, “sadly, the school has been engaged in prevarications and public relations stunts to the chagrin of many members of the Nigerian public.
“There is an on-going criminal investigation that is supposed to focus on the management of the school with its staff on the circumstances under which the girl was raped and later died from complications resulting from the rape owing to the initial inactions of the school with its attempt to conceal the gravity of attack on the girl that was in its custody.
The statement called on the Inspector General of Police to set up a high-powered investigative team to unmask the persons in the school, who were responsible for the rape of the girl-child in the custody of the school and why the school concealed the rape and failed to immediately take appropriate actions to save the life of the girl.
According to the statement, CASER hereby calls on the Nigerian authorities, particularly the Federal Ministry of Education, the Federal Ministry of Women’s Affairs, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and the Honourable Attorney General of the federation, to
immediately apply the relevant provisions of the Child’s Rights Act and obtain an Order of Court to immediately shut down Premier Academy, Lugbe for such acts of gross negligence causing the death of a female student in its custody.
“The closure of the school should remain in place until the authorities are satisfied that the school has put policies and measure in place that will protect its students and prevent a reoccurrence of such grave sexual offences.
This is considering that there have been reports of earlier events of rape and other sexual offences against children that have happened in that same school.
The statement says that the closure of Premier Academy, Lugbe in the wake of the rape and death of one of its female student, owing to a manifest dereliction of the responsibility to protect the students by the school’s management, will not only to serve as a wake-up call to all other proprietors of schools, who fail to realise the extent of their responsibility to protect and be accountable for the students under their care but will also emphasize the required high standards of child protection under the Nigerian educational system.
“Therefore, CASER calls on the relevant Nigerian authorities, especially the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and the Federal Ministry of Education to immediately set up an inter-agency panel of inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the death of the female student, Karen- Happuch of Premier Academy that was raped in its custody.
“This trend of rape and sexual molestation of girls in educational institutions in Nigeria, now including secondary schools is becoming rife because of societal and institutional silence which appears to have kept the scourge unaddressed with the required and expected tough stance of Government against rape and other sexual offences”.
CASER said that, it is therefore closely watching the development on the response of Government and hopes that the authorities will take immediate action on demands, including the immediate shut down of Premier Academy, Lugbe and the setting up of an independent, inter-agency panel of inquiry.
However, the School authorities, have denied complicity in the case of Rape, maintaining that while in their custody, she was hale and in good health.
