The Kaduna Police Command has reported that the Principal and Vice Principal of Al-Azhar School in Zaria, Kaduna State, have been detained.
They were detained on Friday for suspected involvement in physical punishment, which resulted in the death of Marwanu Nuhu Sambo, a JSS3 pupil.
Sambo was allegedly violently assaulted by Al-Azhar Academy’s Principal, Vice Principal, and prefects for being missing from school.
When asked to clarify the school’s management’s claims that individuals engaged in the heinous crime had been detained, PPRO ASP Mansir Hassan of the Police Command said:
“Police is fully aware of the incident, and we are in control of the situation.”
According to the PPRO: “Two suspects have been arrested in connection to the development. The CP has directed a full-scale investigation on the matter and we will get to its root cause.”
According to reports, Sambo was paraded to the Assembly for missing classes. He was subjected to severe punishments, including over 150 cane strokes.
“At the assembly, the Principal ordered that Marwanu should be given 105 strokes of cane. After that, they took him to the office, removed his clothes and trousers, and continued beating him with sticks on the head, back, and body.
“The Principal later handed him over to the school prefects, who continued beating him with sticks until one of his teeth fell off. It was at that point that the deceased went into a coma.
“But instead of rushing him to the hospital, the prefects brought him out and dumped his body in the school premises near the male toilets until closing.
“Cries from other students in the school who watched in trepidation reportedly attracted other teachers who rushed to the scene where they found out that the boy has given up the ghost,” a source said
According to another source, the student was taken to a private hospital in Zaria, where he was pronounced dead.
However, the school administration stated that the sanction was not part of its policy, while the officials who applied it were not. “the irresponsible punishment did it without consultation.”
The school said, “It is deeply saddened by the incident that lead to the death of its student and prays almighty Allah to forgive the shortcoming of the deceased, grant him jannat elfirdous as his final abode and give his family the fortitude to bear the irreplaceable lost.
“Furthermore, the officers that committed this act were suspended from the school forthwith and handed over to the Nigerian Police Force for investigation and further action.
“Finally the School is closed for academic activities till further notice.”
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