SANITY was thrown to the wind in Ibadan as some men of the Nigeria Customs Service stormed a secondary school, United Senior Secondary School, Ijokodo, Ibadan and beat a teacher mercilessly for daring to punish a student whose father is a Customs officer.
Though, none of the students of the school was injured during the chaotic situation, the teachers in the school and other traders around the school said the Customs men shot sporadically to scare some students and teachers who wanted to come to the rescue of the teacher, Mr. Gbenga Ogunleye while he was being beaten by four officers in uniform.
The boy, Allison Ebuka who is in SS 3, had gone to the Customs Barrack to invite his parent after he had allegedly refused to serve punishment with other students who were found culpable of indecent behavior.
While speaking with newsmen yesterday, the helpless teacher, said “last Friday, some boys who are fond of dressing indecently to school and assembling in an uncompleted building during odd hour were rounded up by the teachers and had all their indecent dresses, slippers, and other things that the school does not allow seized”.
“We told them to form a queue and ask them to jump up and down. But Ebuka did not respond despite telling him to do so. I then used the cane in my hand to compel him, still he resisted. He then went home to call his father, mother and cousin. To my surprise, when his parent came, the father asked him to identify me, instructed him to beat me in his presence”, he said.
“When I was resisting, the boy went for a wheel spanner and was aiming at my head. But, I used my hand to protect my head. The father then asked for reinforcement. Other officers in uniform drove in with high speed into the school compound. They dragged me on the ground, beat me to stupor and tore my shirt. When other teachers and students came to my rescue, the Customs men fired shots and students began to jump over the fence”.
When Vanguard got to the school yesterday, the teachers said the boy in question had been expelled by the Ministry of Education.
The teacher, who was hospitalized as a result of the beating, said he was yet to buy the drugs that were prescribed for him.
“I was taken to Jericho Hospital for treatment.
They treated me and prescribed some drugs. The Nigeria Union of Teachers in the state has taken exception to the behviour of the Customs officer”, he said.
Efforts made to get the Customs officer or the command were unsuccessful. As at the time of filing this report, the Public Relations officer of Customs in Ibadan, Mrs. Nkiru Nwala had travelled and several calls made to her phone were not connected.
Source:Vanguardngr.com
