Teachers recount ordeal after thugs attack school in Delta State

Teachers at Erhavwe Secondary School in Delta State, Nigeria, have detailed a harrowing ordeal involving an attack by thugs. The incident, which took place on May 14, saw the assailants target a Maths teacher and subsequently injure other staff members who attempted to intervene.

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Surprisingly, I saw that some non students had invaded the school and went straight to attack the Maths teacher. In the video you saw of the incident, you noticed that some of the boys attacked me from the back while we were trying to use cane to separate the boys from the teacher. I sustained an injury that day.

According to the Vice Principal, Mr. Lucky Otuaga, the attack began when individuals who were not students invaded the school premises. He described being attacked from behind while trying to separate the aggressors from the Maths teacher, Mr. Charles Ovwigho. The Maths teacher reported that his reading glasses were smashed during the assault.

Mr. Ovwigho explained that the confrontation stemmed from a classroom incident where he had to confiscate a student's phone due to disruption. The student, identified as Miss Deborah Kazeem, allegedly brought in the thugs after failing to retrieve her phone. The teacher vehemently denied any allegations of sexual advances toward the student.

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I was teaching, the girl was not paying attention. Instead of allowing her to distract my class, I had to seize the phone. What annoyed me was when she carried her phone to show the film she was watching to another student in the class. The distraction was so much that I had to seize the phone and took it to the principal, there were even two students. Later she came to meet me at the staff room and I asked her to go bring her Maths note.

While the community, the Nigerian Union of Teachers, and the Ministry of Education have become involved, the affected staff expressed that the humiliating experience remains difficult to forget. The school principal, Patience Ekakitie, confirmed that the case is currently before a magistrate’s court in Agbarho. However, she noted that efforts are being made to withdraw the case for an amicable resolution. The student, Miss Kazeem, has been suspended indefinitely.

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I was transferred to this school