The Lagos State Government will investigate the alleged defilement of a 10-year-old boy by a 22-year-old teacher, Louis Prosper, at Blessed Peace School in Abule Odu, Egbeda community, Alimosho Local Government Area.
The spokesperson for the Lagos State Ministry of Education, Mr. Kayode Sutton, stated that the issue could have been addressed earlier if the ministry was aware of the teacher’s alleged crime.
Chronicle NG report on Monday detailed how the 22-year-old teacher was arrested and detained by the Lagos State Police Command for allegedly sodomising the minor at the school.
The teacher had allegedly told the survivor to behave like a girl and take off his trousers after luring him to a solitary spot in the school.
The report also mentioned that the suspect lured the survivor to the spot on October 18, 2024, under the premise of taking him to a spelling bee and art competition where the kid may earn money and possibly travel abroad.
“He took the boy to a classroom and instructed him to act like a girl. He then ordered him to pull down his trousers and close his eyes.
“He assaulted the boy and threatened him not to tell anyone, assuring him that he would win the competition,” a key figure involved in the teacher’s arrest who requested to remain anonymous told reporters on Sunday.
When contacted on Monday to discuss the Lagos state government’s efforts to maintain school safety and its response to the occurrence, Sutton responded that the proper department had been notified and that an inquiry would begin.
“Officially, we are not aware of the incident. We are not unmindful that things like these happen in private and public schools, which of course we have to a large extent nipped in the bud. We have reprimanded a lot of teachers in this regard.
“Because it is a private school and the incident was not escalated by the management at any point in time, it would be difficult for the government to be aware of it.”
“We have the office of quality assurance that handles cases like this. If the private school had escalated it, the state government would have stepped in immediately.
“Now that we know this, we have forwarded the information to the appropriate authorities. They will take immediate action, investigate, and visit the school. This will determine our next steps. We already have a monitoring team in place to handle such cases, but without such information being brought to our attention, our ability to act is limited,” Sutton stated.
Speaking with newsmen on Monday, a woman who identified herself as the school’s proprietress but declined to disclose her name said the suspect had already been arrested by the state police.
She also told newsmen that the suspect had been dismissed after the school became aware of his alleged crime.
“The teacher has already been detained and is no longer at the school. That’s all we know about the matter for now; he is no longer employed with us,” the proprietress said before ending the call.
