Description

Rivers State Response Team on Violence Against Women & Children has requested the immediate arrest and prosecution of a Police Woman Inspector (Patience Asika), Miss Omehia Uju, and the Proprietress of Ihuoma International School, Chokocho-Etche, to account for the circumstances that led to the suspected forceful removal of the incisor teeth of a 2-year-old child while in the school.
The Team also requested the Rivers State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Ebuka Friday to as a matter of urgency, and in response to its petition to his office dated 31st of May 2022, summon the Woman Inspector of Police, Patience Asika, now serving at the Special Area Police Division, Rumuodomaya, to explain the circumstance under which she had conspired with the school proprietress to sneak the suspects earlier arrested from the Police station, and how she also misled another Team of Police Officers to Chokocho, Etche to invade the home of parents of the victim, breaking down their door and taking away Mr. Ike Azunna (the father) in ordinary pants in a commando style during the early hours of today Wednesday 8th of June 2022 at about some minutes before 6am.
Coordinator, Rivers State Response Team on Violence Against Women & Children; and Chairman, Rivers Indigenous NGOs & Civil Society Network, Tombari Dumka-Kote stated this while reacting to news of the invasion, assault, destruction of properties and unlawful arrest and detention of Mr. Ike Azunna by some misinformed Police officers from the State CID, Port Harcourt on the conspiracy of the school proprietress and a police woman Inspector who claimed to be a family member to the school owner.
Dumka-kote who said it is unheard of, that a parent whose child had been injured on several occasions will have his home invaded and properties destroyed for reporting the matter and trying to speak up, said the relevant ministries of the Rivers State Government have been duly informed and are already taking necessary steps as the school in light of the latest development remains unsafe for children.
The Team received a report in our office from Mr. and Mrs. Ike, narrating how their 2year old child was on the 10th of May 2022 injured in school (IHUOMA INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL, CHOKOCHO), and few days later on the 19th also picked from school with his incisor teeth suspected to have been pulled off with a plier, and the boy in pains with traumatic experience. The father of the child also narrated how he had on the two occasions reached out to the school teacher and the proprietress to report the issue but was dispersed as a drunk by the proprietress not giving attention to the issue he has raised.
Upon the report, we had as a Team invited the Proprietress of the school to get their side of the story and to know the action taken by the school and the class teacher in the light of the report. Sadly, the class teachers account clearly indicates that she had fore knowledge of the incident 3 days earlier in school, before the father of the child came to report to the school proprietress. Her account showed that both the teacher and the school were negligent in their duties as caregivers in violation of Sections 1, 13(1)(2) and Section 14 of the Rivers State Child Rights Law (2009).
The Team had also requested the school management to provide copies of the schools Child Protection Policy and Child Care Policy to find out measures already in place to prevent occurrences of similar nature, but the school rather than provide the document and explore the dialogue window created, had rather invited a man who claimed to be the friend of the proprietress (a police officer in disguise) to the meeting with the aim of threatening the child’s parents to drop the case against the school. An opportunity allowed the school to take over the medical bills and treatment of the child was also rejected by the school, before the Team petitioned the Commissioner of Police for further investigation of the matter, response of which we are yet to receive before the latest incident.
It thus became clear to the Team, that the school management have an unclear motive about the repeated incident of violence against the 2year old child in the school. Hence, the Team been worried about the incident and the fate of other children in the school requests the arrest of the class teacher and members of the school management, for an in-depth investigation of the matter and prosecution of anyone found wanting.