The management of Chrisland School, in Opebi, Ikeja, Lagos State, is awaiting the outcome of an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of a 12-year-old pupil of the school, Whitney Adeniran, who died during a sports event on Thursday.
The Lagos government has ordered the closure of the school, pending the outcome of the probe.
The deceased’s mother, Blessing, had accused Chrisland of negligence and questioned the school’s narrative of what transpired.
She said the school made no provision for emergency response at the sports venue and failed to administer first aid, adding that her daughter had no pre-existing heart condition despite the doctor’s allusion to a cardiac arrest.
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Saturday night, the father of the deceased pupil, Michael Adeniran, had taken to social media, demanding a probe into the death of his daughter.
The Lagos State Commissioner for Education, Folasade Adefisayo, announced the shutdown of the school.
“We also note the impact of this unfortunate event on family, friends, and acquaintance of Whitney and call for calm as we assure that no effort will be spared in investigating the incident,” she stated.
Reacting to public criticism following the 12-year-old student’s death, the school management said Whitney had reported “not-too-buoyant” health on January 20, contrary to claims by her parents.
The school said it opted to take her to a health centre, and not a hospital, based on proximity.
Chrisland dismissed insinuations that there was foul play in Whitney’s death while citing that she slumped in public.
“Our immediate response was to take advantage of proximity by identifying the nearest medical facility to take her to, where the doctor on duty administered oxygen and every aid possible to her,” the school had said.
Chrisland School Lagos is at the centre of a crisis at least for the third time in about three years.
In 2022, four teachers were arraigned after a sex tape by Chrisland pupils surfaced online during an outing. In 2019, an ex-teacher of the school’s branch in VGC bagged a 60-year jail term for defiling a two-year-old girl in 2016.
