Follow Us on Google
From Isaac Job, Uyo
There is palpable tension at Federal Government College Ikot Ekpene following the death of a 12 year old Junior Secondary one (JS1) student Ufokobong Edwin Godwin on Easter Sunday after he was admitted in the hospital.
It was gathered that late Ufokobong Edwin Godwin was tortured in the school hostel by his senior student in Senior Secondary three (SS3) before the Easter holiday.
Narrating the incident, one of the students who lived in the same hostel with deceased said the Senior Student approached the victim for his provisions during the terminal examinations but the deceased colleague refused insisting that he didn’t have enough to share .
“A fellow student (a senior student in SS3) asked the boy for provisions, but he refused.
“The student reportedly hit him on the neck, after which he went into a coma.
“He later regained consciousness in the hospital and was taken back to school. When the holiday came, the parents picked him up without being informed of any incident involving their son. (Perhaps the school did not think the injury was that serious.)
The student who pleaded anonymity said the senior descended on late Ufokobong beating him black and blue by hitting his neck until he fainted 3 times before other students raised the alarm for his rescue.
He said students rushed to inform the boarding master who took the deceased to undisclosed hospital where he regained consciousness, returned to hostel and later left for Easter holiday .
He said when the parents picked the boy up on closing day, the school management refused to inform them of what happened to the boy so as to continue medication at home during the Easter vacation.
” At home the boy developed severe pains on his neck and was shouting my neck ! , my neck! before parents bought pain relief drugs unknown to them that the incident was more than ordinary pains
” When the pains was more severe, the father rushed the deceased to hospital where he died on Easter Sunday
“Back home, the parents said the boy started complaining of throat pain last week Wednesday, and they got medication for him.
“On Saturday night, the father called some of his friends asking them to pray for his son, who had been taken to the hospital.
“By Sunday morning, around 1:00am, the boy passed on
“The hospital later confirmed that he d!ed from complications associated with blood clots around his throat (neck area)”.
Investigations reveal that there were other cases of bullying in the college but the management cover up just to protect powerful parents
One of the parents who spoke on condition of anonymity said that last year , a senior student in SS3 used box iron to hit a junior one on the head and the boy fainted and collapsed
He said the school management rushed the student to University Uyo Teaching Hospital (UUTH) where the boy spent more than one month for treatment after the school had spent over N200,000
He said bullying has continued in the college while Parent Teacher Association and school management treat it with thin gloves .
He disclosed that bullying has continued in the school unabated including girls hostels where fellow students subjected their juniors to torture and other forms of punishment while management looked the other way
” Last year some girls put their junior girls in a bag and zipped it until the child suffocated ”
He said bullying becomes rampant such that a group of parents prided themselves as “Transformation Team” campaigning during PTA election in February this year .
” When they won the PTA election, they didn’t bother to address the issues they were elected but rather focus on PTA funds ,sharing the money to their political godfather while students welfare continue to deteriorates
” During this Easter holiday, the security man caught a suspected thief with cartons of indomie noodles meant for students
” The suspected thief was handed over to the police but the principal called the DPO and pleaded that the suspect should be released. This was done immediately”
Meanwhile, the family of the deceased student have called on the federal government to investigate the circumstances leading to the death of their son
Speaking to our Reporter on phone, the father said though he is weakened by the incident , government should intervene immediately for justice to prevail.
” I can not talk now. I am calling on the federal government to intervene for justice . I will talk at appropriate time”
