19-month-old boy dies 5 days after he was allegedly tied up, flogged by teacher

A 19-month-old pupil, Obinna Udeze, has died five days after he was allegedly tied up and flogged by his teacher on allegation that he was troublesome.

The incident happened at Arise and Shine Nursery and Primary School in Asaba, Delta State.

The teacher, Emeka Nwogbo, who is also the son of the proprietress of the school has been taken into custody by the state police command.

It was said that the little Udeze had taken ill following the flogging and was taken to the Federal Medical Centre, Asaba where he eventually died on Saturday after his condition deteriorated.

However, there were conflicting accounts regarding what lead to the beating by the teacher.

While one account held that Udeze pushed another child, another one claimed the victim was punished for playing with the school's tap.

The victim's mother, Gift, while speaking to a Punch correspondent on Saturday said that her son returned home on Monday bearing marks of strokes all over his body.

Narrating the event, Gift said “I took him back to the school immediately to enquire why he was beaten that much. The proprietress asked me if I knew the gravity of my son’s offence; a boy of a year and seven months. I told her I would come back the next day to know the person who beat him.

“On my way home, some pupils of the same school told me how my son was tied up and given several strokes of cane because he said he was hungry. Throughout the night, he was running temperature. On Tuesday, I took him to the school to complain. The woman said I was disturbing the peace of the school.”

She further explained that after leaving the school, she took her son to the hospital for treatment, adding that the proprietress didn't bother to visit the boy till he died.

Gift continued, “On Thursday, he went into a coma. That was when I involved a non-governmental organisation and the police went to the school. The woman’s son (Nwogbo) told the police that he flogged my son.

“He said he (Udeze) was playing with the tap but his mother even said my son’s hand couldn’t reach where the tap is. At the GRA Police Station, he changed the narrative; he said my son pushed another child and he beat him. The proprietress herself claimed my son was stubborn and cried a lot.”

The victim's mother said more pupil confirmed to her what happened on the day. According to them, Udeze took his launch box to “the Big Mummy (the proprietress),” crying.

“They said she collected the box from him and complained that he cried too much. They said the proprietress’ son tied him up and started flogging him. He was my only child; my everything. He became so weak and died this morning (Saturday) at the emergency ward of the FMC,” she stated.

Mr Ebenezer Omejalile, Coordinator, Advocates for Children and Vulnerable Persons Network, has revealed that the organisation would leave no stone unturned to make sure justice was served.

He said, “Even if the child was beaten for playing with water, was it not negligence on the part of the school? The boy’s father is a military officer serving in the North East. The family doesn’t even know whether he is dead or alive. He is under captivity of Boko Haram.

“We want to see what the government will do on this case. We want to see what the Ministry of Justice and the police will do. A similar thing happened in Lagos a few days ago when a two-year-old was flogged because he could not read the English alphabet,” he concluded.

Meanwhile, the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, DSP Bright Edafe, said the police had commenced investigation into the matter.