PUBLIC OUTCRY AS 12-YEAR-OLD FGC IKOT EKPENE STUDENT ALLEGEDLY TORTURED BY SENIOR DIES
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By: Muftau Fatimo
Public outrage has erupted following the death of 12-year-old Junior Secondary School student, Ufokobong Edwin Godwin, of Federal Government College, Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State, on Easter Sunday. Reports indicate that Ufokobong was allegedly tortured in the school hostel by a Senior Secondary Three (SS3) student before the Easter break.
Speaking about the incident, a fellow student who shared the hostel with the deceased revealed that the senior student had approached Ufokobong for some of his provisions during the terminal examinations. However, Ufokobong reportedly refused, stating that he did not have enough to share.
He stated that a senior student in SS3 asked the boy for provisions, but the boy refused. The senior then struck him on the neck, causing the boy to fall into a coma. Other students raised the alarm, prompting the compound master to respond, and the boy was rushed to the hospital. He later regained consciousness and was returned to school.
During the holiday, the boy’s parents picked him up, but the school did not inform them of the incident, possibly underestimating the severity of the injury. The parents were therefore unaware that he needed ongoing medical care during the Easter break. At home, the boy began experiencing severe neck pain. His parents gave him pain relief medication, unaware that the injury was serious.
When his condition worsened, his father rushed him to the hospital, where the boy tragically died on Easter Sunday.
“Back home, the parents said the boy started complaining of throat pain on Wednesday, and they got medication for him.
“On Saturday night, the father called some of his friends (one of whom shared this story ), 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),” as reported by Oga Yenne on Facebook.
Meanwhile, investigations have revealed that there were other cases of bullying in the college but much have not been done to address the issue.
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.
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 alleged that bullying had continued in the college, while Parent Teachers Association and the school management looked the other way.
He revealed that bullying continues unchecked at the school, including in the girls’ hostels, where senior students reportedly subject their juniors to torture and other forms of punishment, while the school management turns a blind eye.
“Last year, some senior girls reportedly placed a junior student in a bag, zipped it, and caused her to suffocate,” he said.
The family of the deceased student has called on the federal government to investigate the circumstances surrounding their son’s death.
Speaking on the phone, the father said that although he is still deeply affected by the tragedy, the government must intervene to ensure justice is served.
“I cannot speak much right now. I am calling on the federal government to intervene for justice. I will speak in detail at an appropriate time,” he said.
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