metro

Senior student forces JSS 1 scholar to take poisonous soaked Garri in Ebonyi school

Published

2 years ago

September 3, 2022

It was indeed a case of attempted murder at Government Secondary School, Afikpo, Ebonyi State, when a Junior Secondary School, JSS 1 student, Master Fruitful Onwe, was allegedly forced to drink Garri socked with hypo detergent by one Iroh Chidiebere Bright, an SS2 student of the same school.

It was gathered that the ugly episode was hidden from the school management and parents of the victims, until the bubble busted.

It was gathered that the victim who was rushed to Afikpo Medical Centre after three days, confessed that Iroh Chidiebere Bright, a senior student of SS 2 and House Captain forced him to take the poisonous substance, adding that “he warned me not to reveal to any one either in the School or to his parents at home.”

Narrating his ordeal, the father of the victim and Public Relations Officer, PRO, Ministry of Works and Transport, Mr. Emmanuel Onwe, said the entire episode was painful to him.

“On Friday 20th May, 2022, I received a phone call from the principal telling me that my son was admitted in the hospital. Furiously, I asked him what happened, and he told me that a senior student administered poisonous garri on my son and he became sick.

“I immediately took a trip to Afikpo and met the principal in his office from where he delegated a male teacher who took me to Afikpo Medical Centre where my son was receiving treatment. There I met the vice principal and another woman. The three of them led me to where my son was.

“My heart was so grieved by the sight of my child lying critical ill on the hospital bed but I managed to control myself. The child who administered the poisonous Garri was also there.

“When I asked my son what happened, he narrated before the teachers. He said on Wednesday 18th June, 2022 while he was alone outside the hostel doing manual labour, the senior student who was also the hostel Captain came to him and asked him whether he will drink garri, and he replied him no. But the senior student told him to shut up and take what he has given him and drink immediately.

“My son again summoned courage and told him (the senior student) that he was afraid because he has never given him anything in the past. The senior student then insisted that he must drink the poisoned Garri and warned my son not to repeat the statement. Out of fear, he succumbed to the intimidation and began to drink.

“When my son noticed that the taste was bad, he told the senior student that it had the taste of hypo-jik, but he told him to shut up. At that point my son refused to take more of the poisoned Garri against the senior student’s persuasion. He then took it from him and entered the hostel.

“After about 30 minutes, my son began to have stomach upset and pain in the throat. He quickly went to the senior student and told him his experience. The senior student then gave him palm oil to drink and warned him not to mention what happened to anybody.

“Unfortunately, the problem persisted until Thursday night when my son became very weak and could no longer breathe well. The senior student made arrangement to smuggle him out of the school and send him home. He warned my son not to mention what happened to anyone including me and my wife if he gets home.

“Early in the morning while the senior student with the help of other two senior students were carrying my son on the back to sneak him out of the school, some teachers took notice of what was going on and intercepted them. The senior student and his friends maintained that nothing was wrong with my son but the evidence was already there as my son could not stand on his feet and was as well afraid to open up.

“They maintained their position until out of stiff interrogation of the teachers, another student who had the knowledge of what transpired came and revealed it to the teachers who then rushed my son to the hospital. The issue now is that some people are bent on reversing the culprit’s expulsion from the school since my child didn’t die.”

In a telephone chat, the principal of the school, Mr Ogbonnia Nwachi, stated that the “status of the case as at today, 2nd September, 2022, is that the Secondary Education Board, SEB, Abakaliki, and the Ministry of Education, MOE, have ruled that the boy or culprit remains expelled.

“Nobody is putting pressure on him to be returned. The two institutions have resolved that the boy remains expelled. We are proactive. As I always advise them because I hold regular meetings with them; be kind with one another as no one knows tomorrow.

“The person you are maltreating today because you are his senior could be the person that will help you tomorrow. So, if you are in the habit of maltreating him, and he becomes an eminent person tomorrow, you will not know how to meet him. You will be hiding.

“The best thing is for them to see themselves as brothers instead of this act that I want to show that am a senior. It doesn’t mean anything. Nobody has ever been given an award for being a bully or wicked. I will continue to advise them because for those of us on the field, to manage over 1,000 students from different homes and with different idiosyncrasies are not easy,” he said.

The Chairman of SEB, David Egbu, who explained that the matter was not before his board, called on the two families to make peace.

Meanwhile, the father of culprit, Mr Tony Iroh, advised students to focus on the reason their parents sent them to school and avoid playing with everything.

“I will encourage students to focus on why they were sent to school and not play with everything. If he is recalled, I will feel happy because he has been in the school for a very long time.”

Investigations revealed that some highly placed individuals within the education sector in the state were putting modalities in place to ensure the return of the culprit to the school.

The implication is that if they succeed, the life of the victim will unarguably be in perpetual danger.

This development is presently agitating the minds of students of the school as well as the parent of the victim.

It was also gathered that a woman lawyer (names withheld) in Ebonyi, who claimed that the culprit was a minor, argued that since the victim didn’t die, the culprit should be allowed to return to the school.

-Vanguard

metro

NURTW scribe felicitates Nigerians on Xmas, urges caution

Published

6 hours ago

December 22, 2024

Trends Admin

NURTW scribe felicitates Nigerians on Xmas, urges caution

The General Secretary of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Comrade Kayode Agbeyangi, has enjoined Nigerians to imbibe the virtues of peace, love and compassion as taught through the birth of Jesus Christ.

He stated this in his Christmas and end of the year goodwill message to felicitate members of the union and Nigerians in general.

Agbeyangi urged Nigerians to use the festive season to reflect on the values of love, compassion, and sacrifice that Jesus Christ embodied.

“This period is not for merry making alone; we should also spare time to reflect on the birth and life of Jesus Christ.

“His birth teaches humility, love compassion and sacrifice. As Nigerians, we must show love to our fellow county men. We must love our country. As Nigerians, we must be ready to make sacrifices for the nation.”

The NURTW scribe also used the opportunity to appeal to members of the union and other road users to always exercise caution and adhere to all safety protocols while travelling during the festive season.

“As we celebrate, let us not forget the importance of road safety. The roads can be treacherous, especially during the festive season.

“I urge our members and all road users to drive safely, avoid overspending, overtaking at dangerous bends and overloading, and be courteous to other road users,” he stated.

He also advised drivers that all their vehicle papers should be up to date to avoid embarrassment from law enforcement officers on the highways.

Comrade Agbeyangi prayed for a peaceful and joyous celebration, and wished members of the union and Nigerians, a happy prosperous New Year.

metro

Why we displayed ‘Jesus Christ is not God’ banner at Lekki mosque -Imam

Published

6 hours ago

December 22, 2024

Trends Admin

Why we displayed ‘Jesus Christ is not God’ banner at Lekki mosque -Imam

The Chief Imam of Lekki Central Mosque in Lagos, Ridwanullah Jamiu, has said the “Jesus Christ is Not God” banner placed on the fence of the mosque was not intended to provoke anybody. The banner became a source of controversy after a picture of it was shared on social media, with many calling it an…

The Chief Imam of Lekki Central Mosque in Lagos, Ridwanullah Jamiu, has said the “Jesus Christ is Not God” banner placed on the fence of the mosque was not intended to provoke anybody.

The banner became a source of controversy after a picture of it was shared on social media, with many calling it an attack on the Christian faith.

Addressing his congregation, Jamiu said the banner was displayed to educate Muslims.

He said, “When you come to Lekki Central Mosque, at least you should learn something. You pass by the banners outside, you look here and there, you learn something because Islam treasures knowledge.”

The Imam said all the banners displayed outside the mosque contain Quran and Hadith verses.

He said after a photo of one of the banners went viral, he “received calls from the government, local government, and area command appealing to us to please remove the banners because of the festive period.”

He said the display of the banners was not to provoke anyone, noting that there’s a difference between propagation of Islam and provocation.

“It was not placed there just yesterday. It has been there for about two months or thereabout. We are peace loving people, we don’t provoke anyone. We only propagate our name,” he said.

Jamiu further stated that nobody can monopolise Jesus because Muslims also have what they believe about him as backed by the Quran which calls him Isah.

“If you don’t believe in Jesus, you are not a Muslim. We are Muslims and anything we believe must be in consonant with the Quran and the Quran says Jesus Christ is not God, he’s a messenger of God. We quoted this verse in the banner. Is there anything wrong if we paste what we believe on our territory to educate our congregation? It’s a verse of the Quran. This is freedom of religion, freedom of speech,” he said.

On the removal of the banner, Jamiu said he received multiple calls ascribing the gesture as cowardice.

“It is not cowardice. We removed it to let peace reign, to obey our government because we are peace-loving people and also because we know it’s a festive period, people may think it was actually calculated to enrage others. We are going to modify it and put it back. We are not cowards,” he said.

The banner has since been replaced with another which says “A

llah is the lord of Jesus.”

Why we displayed ‘Jesus Christ is not God’ banner at Lekki mosque -Imam

metro

CBN fines bank found hoarding cash N150m

Published

10 hours ago

December 22, 2024

Trends Admin

CBN fines bank found hoarding cash N150m

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has imposed a N150 million fine on a commercial bank for failing to dispense cash through its Automated Teller Machines (ATMs).

This action follows an unannounced inspection by the apex bank, which uncovered deliberate cash hoarding and ATM manipulation by the erring bank.

Sources within the CBN revealed that the sanctioned bank was caught disabling its ATMs, thereby denying customers access to their funds while prioritizing cash disbursements to select VIP clients.

A staff member of the CBN stressed that the apex bank would not tolerate such practices.

“The Bank will not spare any Deposit Money Bank (DMB) caught in the act of hoarding cash or found favoring VIP customers over other customers,” the official stated.

To this end, the CBN has intensified spot checks on banks nationwide, exposing various illicit cash-handling practices by some unscrupulous financial institutions.