Ogun Govt Suspends Ilugun High School Principals Over Student Death, Illegal Fees

The Ogun State Government has indefinitely suspended the principals of Ilugun High School, Elega — Mrs. Olukoga Adeyemi Alaba (Junior Secondary School) and Mrs. Ladipo Olabisi Temitope (Senior Secondary School) — following the death of a suspected student during a protest.

The suspension was announced on Tuesday by the State Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Prof. Abayomi Arigbabu, after a viral video showed students vandalising school property. He explained that preliminary findings linked the incident to the actions of the school management.

According to the Commissioner, it was discovered that the Junior Secondary School principal had been involved in the collection of illegal fees, which triggered the protest. Both the Junior and Senior arms of the school were alleged to have demanded N7,500 from students before granting them access to check their examination results.

The protest escalated when the school reportedly invited members of the Amotekun Corps to restore order. In the process, some students fled, and three scaled the perimeter fence into a canal, where one of them drowned.

Prof. Arigbabu expressed condolences on behalf of the state government to the family of the deceased but revealed that the victim’s enrolment status was questionable.

“Preliminary investigations revealed a very disturbing twist. The young man who lost his life could not be confirmed as a bona fide student of the school. He was identified by three different names — Babalola Ayornide, Salako Jimoh, and Afolabi Babalola — yet none of these names appear in our official state education database, the OGSERA platform, which authenticates all school enrolments. This points to the likelihood of an illegal enrolment,” he said.

He added that both principals had been placed on suspension to allow for a thorough investigation into the immediate and remote causes of the incident.

The Commissioner further announced that a “Whistle Blowers” scheme has been introduced through the Teaching Service Commission to monitor activities in schools and curb illegal practices.

Reaffirming Governor Dapo Abiodun’s commitment to free education in the state, Arigbabu stressed:
“Let me assure the good people of Ogun State that the administration of His Excellency, Prince Dapo Abiodun, CON, remains unshaken in its commitment to provide free education for every school-age child, irrespective of where they live, their gender, economic status, religious belief, or political affiliation.”

He also appealed to students not to resort to destroying school property in anger.
“While we share in your grief, please do not vent your anger by destroying school property. We all know that we are still battling with inadequate infrastructure in our schools. Destroying the little we have will only make the situation worse, not better,” he cautioned.

Opinion Nigeria News