Edo students strip policeman, set school ablaze, principal flees

About 49 students of Idogbo Secondary School in Ikpoba-Okha Local Government Area of Edo State have been arrested for allegedly burning a section of the school and vandalising the principal’s office.

The Police Public Relations Officer, Edo State Command, Bello Kontongs, confirmed the incident in an interview with our correspondent on Tuesday.

The incident was said to have occurred on Friday.

The students, in a viral video of the incident which surfaced on Tuesday, were seen chasing a man believed to be the principal.

When they could not catch up with him, the rampaging students returned to the school premises and visited arson on the school.

It was gathered that the students resorted to violence when one of them had an altercation with one of the policemen drafted to the school to maintain law and order and in the process, overpowered the policeman, who was stripped by the students.

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A source in the school, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, stated that the school management invited security personnel in anticipation of security breach in the school as it had become commonplace in the school, especially during festive and examination seasons.

The source added, “It is the tradition of the school that during the end of every term examination, we invite security officers to avoid any breakdown of law and order, so the examination was to end on December 10 before vacation.

“But, days before the examination started, we were battling with students throwing explosives in the compound.

“So, when the examination started on Friday, December 3, we invited some policemen and vigilante members in case of any problem. The first set of policemen came, while we waited for other police officers.

“One of the policemen on duty was moving around the school compound. The school authority did not know what happened but we saw that the students were chasing the policeman, so some of his colleagues came to rescue him and that was when the students started throwing stones and other weapons.

“When it became uncontrollable, teachers started running for their lives, then the children went on the rampage, destroying everything on sight, policemen were called from the Police Command. But they could not control them.

“It was when they invited the DSS people that they used gunshots to scare them away. Later, the DSS personnel arrested about 45 of the students who were hiding in the bush. They are now at the police command.”

Confirming the incident, Kontongs, said, “49 students are in custody for wilful damage of government property. None has been charged to court yet.”

Punch