Probe student’s death at Chrisland School

Again, Chrisland is in the news, and as usual, for the wrong reason; this time involving a student’s life. Whitney Adeniran, a 12-year-old student of Chrisland International High School located in Opebi-Ikeja, Lagos, recently died during the school’s inter-house sports competition that was held on February 9, 2023 at the Agege Stadium in Lagos, Lagos State. Michael Adeniran, father of the late student, said the management of the school was hiding the truth about the death of his daughter.

Mr Adeniran said when he arrived at the hospital, his late daughter’s lips, tongue and face were black; adding that one of the doctors confirmed to him that his daughter was already dead when she was rushed in. “When I asked to know what had happened to my daughter, the school authority could not get me any information as to what happened to my child in their care,” Whitney’s father explained.

According to Adeniran, Whitney left the house hale and hearty at the time the school-bus driver came to pick her up. Speaking further, he said some students alleged that his daughter was electrocuted and that the administration was attempting to conceal the truth. He also said the school administration was discouraging him from conducting an autopsy on his daughter.

In a social media post, Whitney’s mother said when she arrived at the hospital and asked the doctor about what happened, she was told “it looks like a cardiac arrest.” Mrs Adeniran lamented at how there was no ambulance, doctors, or medical personnel in a place where there were about 500 students and over 100 parents.

Reacting to accusations by Whitney’s parents, Chrisland School, in a statement issued on February 13, 2023, said Whitney was ill 20 days before the inter-house sports event as she had reported ‘not-too-buoyant’ health on January 20, 2023 and her father, Michael Adeniran, came to the school to take her home. “We emphasised to her parents to take a critical look at her. It is instructive to state that Whitney slumped in public view and not under any hidden circumstances whatsoever,” Chrisland said. Dismissing allegations of any foul play, the school said, “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.”

The Police Public Relations Officers (PPRO) in Lagos State, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed that the police command in the state has launched an investigation into Miss Whitney Adeniran’s death. Meanwhile, the Commissioner for Education, Mrs Folasade Adefisayo, has ordered the closure of the school pending the outcome of investigation into the case.

This is not the first time Chrisland School in Lagos would be at the centre of a crisis involving one of its students. It would be recalled that the mother of a female student from the same school cried out in April 2022 alleging that her 10-year-old daughter, who was among the school’s contingent to the World School Games (WSG) that was held in Dubai, was allegedly drugged and raped during the trip. The mother alleged that some students filmed the scene and posted it online after her daughter was assaulted. She also disclosed that when the school was confronted about the incident, her daughter was suspended. In this case, too, the Lagos State Government in a statement on April 18, 2022 ordered the immediate closure of the school alongside all other annexes within the state.

In October 2019, Adegboyega Adenekan, a supervisor at the Chrisland School in Lekki, Lagos, was sentenced to 60 years imprisonment for defiling a two-year-old pupil at the school. The mother of the defiled pupil raised the alarm in 2016 that Adenekan raped her child. Although the school denied the claim, stood with the teacher and proclaimed his innocence, the Lagos State Government took over the case.  On October 24, 2019, the Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court found the then 47-year-old teacher guilty of a one-count charge of the rape of a minor.

While Daily Trust prays that God grants Miss Whitney’s soul eternal rest and her parents the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss, we condemn Chrisland’s alleged negligence of failing to provide medical personnel and first aid equipment at the venue of the inter-house sports. Rather than closing down the school each time operational guidelines are disregarded or violated, the Lagos State Ministry of Education is advised to subject Chrisland School to a comprehensive re-accreditation of its human resources and physical facilities needed to forestall a recurrence of all the aberrations that have bedevilled it in recent years. Against government regulations and public interest, Chrisland has regrettably become notorious for everything that a school should not be.

Based on claims and counter-claims tendered by Miss Whitney’s parents and Chrisland School, we call on the Lagos State Government to order a full probe into the circumstances surrounding Miss Whitney’s death, including a post-mortem examination with a view to revealing the real cause of her death. The school should be sanctioned according to the law if found culpable in anyway. Also, facilities for conducting tests on students should be provided in all schools as a way of checking health status.