Images surface of female pupil allegedly beaten at Lagos-based Command Secondary School
by Piyush Mathur
Some Nigeria-oriented social media accounts posted images yesterday and today of a female pupil with injuries allegedly caused by beatings from a bursar at the Lagos-based Command Secondary School, located along the Ayobo-Ipaja Road in the Alimosho Local Government Area.
The alleged victim is in 12th grade, and her name is Maryjane Okonkwo.
The bursar accused of beating Ms. Okonkwo is claimed to be Farouk Ohieari.
Providing details regarding these allegations in a Facebook post made on March 3, the social-activist handle called Odogwukiwi has sought immediate action on this case. (Owned by Mr. Onyi Anumba, this handle has 481,000 followers on Facebook, and 212,000 followers on Instagram.)
Odogwukiwi’s post includes not only two photographs of the bruises on Ms. Okonkwo’s thighs but also a video showing the same. The post notes that Ms. Okonkwo has not been released to her mother since these injuries came to light; it further notes that such beatings have allegedly been given to other students at the same school but not been reported by their parents as it is controlled by the military.
Odogwukiwi has demanded that Ms. Okonkwo be released to her mother at the earliest so that she could get proper care, an ‘independent investigation’ be carried out into this incident, and accountability be fixed.
Aside from seeking protection for parents and students who speak out on this and other similar incidents, Odogwukiwi has also sought justice for all the affected parties, especially Ms. Okonkwo and any other victimised pupils.
Within around 15 hours, Odogwukiwi’s post had received more than 500 reactions and been shared more than 130 times.
Elsewhere, on X, a similar post on the same alleged incident was made earlier today by a handle called IGBO History & Facts @IgboHistoFacts, and roughly within 7 hours, it had received more than 300,000 views and been hearted almost 3000 times.
These images show bruises allegedly caused to a 12th-grade female pupil by a bursar at the Lagos-based Command Secondary School of Nigeria.
(Image credit: Social Media)
Thoughtfox has reached out to the school, via its online contact form, seeking its reaction to this report.