10 Hospitalised As Police, Student Cultists Clash In Secondary School

A fight broke which broke out among some cult groups said to be students of Community Senior Grammar School and Ikotun High School at Ikotun in the Alimosho Local Government Area of Lagos State have left some students hospitalised.

The incident according to sources happened as a result of a long-time rivalry between two groups in the schools.

The medium learnt that policemen nearby made an effort to restore calm in the area.

However, on sighting the officers, the troublemakers started to hurl dangerous objects at them.

The officers, sending the atmosphere, called for reinforcement and after that shot teargas canisters into the premises of the school to disperse the groups.

This led to a stampede as some of the students sustained varying degrees of injuries, while those said to be asthmatic reportedly slumped in the process.

About 10 students were hospitalised according to a parent who identified herself simply as Bimbo.

She said, “The quarrel between some of the students of both schools started immediately when the school closed. One of the boys took a bottle and broke it and the police officers close to the school saw that they quickly wanted to address the issue but the Community Senior Grammar School students started throwing stones and planks at them.

“The police then retreated towards the main road. On getting there, they met another patrol van coming, alerted them and went back into the school. But the mistake they made was throwing teargas inside the school compound because they had to force their way into the compound with the patrol van.

“The moment they shot the teargas and started shooting into the air, the students started running and that caused a stampede, and you know some of the students have health challenges. The teargas affected them and some of them started to collapse while some got injured during the stampede. One of them is asthmatic.”

She added that the affected students were rushed to a nearby health centre before being transferred to Igando General Hospital.

One of the students in a video was lying on the bare floor while she was placed on oxygen.

Some students were said to have been arrested and locked up at the Ikotun Police Station.

“So many innocent students were picked and locked up until the following day when we had to go and protest at the police station because we know some innocent students who were picked while the troublemakers escaped because they are smart,” an eyewitness said.

Mr Israel Olusegun, who has two children in the school, said he had withdrawn them due to the incident.

He also urged the government to relocate one of the schools instead of leaving them on the same premises.

He said, “The students of Community Grammar School are very tough. There was a time when the parents were contemplating that (relocation) for peace to reign.

“This is not the first time this is happening. Sometimes, they quarrel with students of the Technical School close to them and sometimes when they start, the teachers and even the principal would run away. We have been hearing about cultism in the school. This incident is one of the unfortunate things that have been happening in the school,” he added.

Speaking on the issue, the state Commissioner for Information, Gbenga Omotoso, said an investigation was ongoing to unravel the cause of the incident.

“The Commissioner for Education has visited the school. Investigation is going on into the matter.”