Amazing Grace School in Benin City, Edo State, South-South Nigeria, is under fire following a shocking incident of corporal punishment that left a 14-year-old student deeply traumatised, both physically and emotionally.
The Private school is at 41 JJ Longe Avenue, Off Igbinosa Street, off Irihirhi Road, Omoma Street, Off Oko-Central, Benin City.
The incident involved the school principal and a math teacher, igniting outrage from the girl’s family.
The victim, a senior student whose identity is being kept confidential due to her age, described the ordeal as “humiliating and painful.”
The incident happened on Monday, 21 October 2024, during a school break when the math teacher, Mr. Sam, gathered students in the chemistry lab to ask them to pay for a storybook.
While the students were standing and listening to his instructions, a young girl and another boy accidentally broke a piece of equipment nearby.
Furious about the accident, Mr. Sam warned them of the consequences, stating coldly, “If you break one, you buy twelve.” The students pleaded, explaining it was an accident and that they couldn’t afford to pay the N6,000 (£3) for the replacement.
The girl, worried about her sick grandmother waiting for her at home, left school after closing as usual.
However, she was soon called back by Mr. Sam, who angrily demanded that she join the boy, who was already kneeling as punishment.
Despite her pleas, explaining her need to care for her grandmother while her mother was at work, the teacher slapped her for “talking back.”
In tears and feeling the injustice, the girl asked Mr Sam if he had relatives and wouldn’t rush home if his family needed help.
Her defiance only fueled his anger, and he attempted to strike her again. This time, she dodged, and the commotion caught the attention of the school proprietor, Mrs. Ufuoma Eribo, who was furious at the girl’s perceived disrespect.
Mrs. Eribo, determined to assert her authority, demanded that the student’s parents be called for a meeting the following day, Tuesday, 22 October.
The girl returned to school the next day, trying to apologise for her reaction, but her words fell on deaf ears as Mrs Eribo had a different punishment planned.
In a shocking display of cruelty, Mrs Eribo publicly humiliated the girl, making her kneel in front of her classmates during assembly. She then commanded one of the students to bring a bucket of water and five canes.
Ignoring the girl’s earlier apology, Mrs Eribo dragged her into a private room, where she was forced to lie across a desk.
In a brutal act of corporal punishment, Mrs Eribo flogged the young girl repeatedly after soaking the cane in water to intensify the pain. Witnesses reported that the girl’s cries echoed in the room as four boys were instructed to hold her hands and legs, rendering her completely defenceless.
The flogging continued mercilessly until her buttocks were black and blue, stripping her of her dignity in front of her peers.
After the brutal beating, the girl was left bruised, humiliated, and isolated. No medical help was offered, and she had to endure both physical pain and emotional trauma without any support.
The girl’s mother, Susan Chukwuka, although initially upset with her daughter’s actions, was horrified when she learned about the severity of the punishment.
“I had no idea how far she would go,” Susan said, referring to her earlier conversation with the principal, where Mrs. Eribo had mentioned that the girl would face consequences. “Since yesterday, my daughter has been unable to sit, and her face is swollen from crying.”
Her aunt, Ruth Ayidu, denounced the punishment as “child abuse,” criticising the school’s approach to the situation. “The school could have handled this in a better way – they could have involved the parents or asked us to pay for the damaged items.
Instead, they chose violence that has left my niece in excruciating pain. She can’t even sit; she’s been lying on her stomach since,” Ruth expressed.
When approached, the principal and the owner laughed in the family’s face, telling them to rub oil in the wound with no apology offered.
The question now is whether justice will be served for a child whose life has been irrevocably affected by the cruelty of those meant to protect and nurture her education.
Standard Gazette