•The First Lady of Lagos State, Dr. (Mrs.) Claudiana Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu
Parents of a two-year-old girl (name withheld), Mr & Mrs Falokun have petitioned the First Lady of Lagos State, Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu seeking justice for their daughter who was allegedly defiled by an Assistant Teacher at her school.
Mrs Falokun, in a five-page petition to the First Lady sighted by The Frontier, detailed how her daughter started attending Early Beginners International School at Ogba axis of the state in September.
Her older child, a boy, had earlier been enrolled in the school founded by Mrs Ogunbayode Olabisi.
However, within few days of joining the school, she began to notice that her daughter was showing discomfort while bathing her especially while trying to wash her private area.
She later put a call through to her assistant class teacher and appealed to her to be more gentle with her baby while cleaning her after using the rest room in school.
“A week and some days after school, I found out my daughter was uncomfortable whenever I washed her private part. On the 21st of September 2024, I put a call through to her Assistant Class Teacher thanking her for taking care of my baby and asked if she got the airtime I sent her a day before and if my daughter was being a good girl in class. The teacher told me that my daughter was very lovely and gentle and had no problem at all in class. Just before I hung up, I asked her to please be a bit gentle when cleaning up my baby after using the restroom as she gets uncomfortable whenever I tried to clean her private area when bathing her. She replied ‘okay ma’,” Falokun’s petition reads in path.
However, the little girl’s ordeal soon took another dimension after her mum noticed her fidgeting whenever it was time to leave for school in the morning.
“Days after that, I noticed she cried whenever she was about to leave for school and she would cry till her father drove off. I felt something was wrong but her dad said it was nothing, that she was just being naughty.
“On Tuesday 15th of October my daughter came home from school and I was about to bathe her, she was on the bed while I removed her pop socks and her panties when I found the skin around her private region bruised and slightly swollen. I was worried and tried to figure out what it was on my own but I became more worried, I couldn’t call the teacher because after-school classes were still on. I later called my sister who also has a two-year-old daughter and we discussed on what it might be. I also later called my husband to get drugs on his way back to treat the bruise,” she explained.
The agitated mother of two later called her daughter’s teacher seeking explanation on the latest development but she assured her everything was fine.
“On the 16th of October I sent her teacher a voice note telling her I wasn’t happy and that I needed to talk to her about my daughter. We spoke later that day and she said my baby was fine, suggesting it could be heat or skin irritation. She also explained that my daughter no longer used the toilet seat but was peeing on the floor and she would help in cleaning it. I felt relieved hearing from her, thinking all was truly well,” she said.
Things later took a different turn on 21st of October when Mrs Falokun undressed her daughter only to discover her an unusual, widening space in her private area. This sad development was later confirmed by a qualified medical personnel at a Primary Health Centre in Ojodu.
“On the 21st of October 2024, my son was brought home from school ill, I received them and we came inside. I undressed my daughter and while attending to my son, my daughter sat on the table of the high chair with her legs opened. Then I noticed her private part was open, the line was wide and I thought I was imagining things, when I was done with my son, I put him to sleep and picked my daughter up, laid her on the bed and opened her legs. I later did a video to be sure, and to my utmost surprise, I saw she was wide and some parts of her vagina inside was red and lose skin around her vagina hole. I later called my sister who sent me a picture of her daughter’s and it looked normal.
I told my husband about a possible case of molestation and on November 1st, we went to a Primary Health Center at Ojodu. I explained our predicament to the Doctor and he asked them to get the nurse. We were discussing and I showed him the video on my phone. The nurse came in putting on her gloves, she saw the video too and said my baby’s hymen is broken and that there was no need to open her up as it was very clear in the video.”
Narrating further, Mrs Falokun said she and her husband later reached out to an NGO, Cece Yara Child Advocacy Center who called another Doctor to examine their daughter. After the examination, the Doctor confirmed the hymen was broken. The Doctor later ran four different blood tests to check for possible infection and they all came back negative.
On November 7th, the Falokuns visited the school to officially lodge a complaint to the headmistress. According to Mrs Falokun, her daughter upon sighting the Assistant Class Teacher fidgeted.
“We went to school on November 7th to explain to the head mistress, she called all those in charge of taking care of my daughter, the Teacher, Assistant Teacher and Cleaner. Surprisingly, my daughter saw the Assistant Teacher and she was frightened and visibly shaking. She almost climbed over my husband and I for safety. This was witnessed by everyone in the HM’s office. However, when we were about leaving, they all started kneeling and begging with the HM pleading we shouldn’t let the matter out. She also promised to sack the Assistant Teacher.”
The Falokuns later reported the case at Area G Police Command. However, the HM, according to them, appeared to wield some influence as the case dragged for weeks with no clear direction. The police instead of interrogating the suspects, curiously went with a video camera to record the home of the complainants, the Falokuns.
However, on the 25th of November, the case caught the attention of the Commission of Police (CP). However, upon further interrogation on Tuesday, November 26, the CP himself confirmed that the young Falokun was indeed defiled.
“He asked me to explain myself, I did. He spoke with my daughter and cheered her up a little, she warmed up to him and anyone who came in there would have thought he was her Grandfather. The police boss asked the school staff some questions and asked for the CCTV footage which they couldn’t provide and gave excuses.
He concluded that from everything he had heard so far, he was convinced that my daughter was indeed molested at the school,” Mrs Falokun said.
The suspects, including the Class Teacher, The Assistant Class Teacher and the Cleaner have now been arrested and charged to court.
But the Proprietor of the school who has shown no remorse and has allegedly been making mockery of the Falokuns remains free and untouched.
Mrs Falokun is therefore calling on the First Lady of Lagos State to use her good offices to get justice for her innocent daughter.
The Falokuns, in a separate forum, also demanded justice for their two-year-old girl child who has suffered a barbaric abuse in her school. They called on
the Human Rights Activists, Federation of Female Lawyers (FIDA), National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, Ministry of Education, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and all Child Protection Agencies to join forces and demand immediate investigation into this abuse, prosecution of those responsible for the heinous crime, protection and support for the child and her family, considering the video recording of their house by the police at Area G.
The Falokuns are appealing to the general public to stand with the family to ensure that this innocent child receives the justice she deserves.
A message sent to the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, a Superintendent of Police (SP) to confirm the case was not responded to at press time as his line was not available.
