These are not the best of times for Chrisland International School as Lagos State Government has ordered its closure over pupil’s death.

Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotoso on Sunday, February 12th, 2023 said:

“We are investigating the matter but as a first step, we are going to shut down the school. Chrisland on Monday, February 13th, 2023 to allow for a full investigation.”

“The Commissioner for Education, Mrs Folasadee Adefisayo, has spoken with the father of the child to sympathise with him and commiserate with the family.”

On Thursday, February 9, 2023 Chrisland School pupil, Whitney Adeniran, 12 died during the school’s inter-house sports at Agege Stadium, Agege, Lagos.

The deceased father, Michael Adeniran who spoke to BBC Pidgin said:

“My daughter died from a naked wire from one cotton candy vendor machine. After she touched it, she was electrocuted immediately.”

“I have documented evidence that my child died of electrocution and not cardiac arrest as Chrisland School claimed.”

The deceased mother, Blessing Adeniran who took to social media to cry out to Nigerians said:

“I visited the venue for the inter-house sports, when the event commenced, I did not see my daughter among the pupils that participated in all the march-pasts.”

“I was trying to locate the whereabouts of my daughter when one of the pupils said she slumped and was rushed to hospital.”

“No ambulance, no doctor, no nurse, there was no emergency provision on the ground in a place where you have over 500 students and 100 parents.”

“When the boy said the school bus took her Whitney, I ran out and met a staff member coming towards me and he said Whitney fell. I said I learnt she fell and he said I should not worry, she would be fine and they have taken her to hospital.”

“I called my husband and he said I should go to the hospital and that he would make a few calls and will meet me there. I asked the staff which hospital they took my daughter to and he said he would ask the principal who said they took her to the Agege Central Hospital.”

“I brought my phone and put it on Google map and typed Agege Central Hospital and it was not showing, what I saw was Agege Central Mosque. I said ‘Ma, it is not showing’ and she said ‘don’t worry, just ask around and they will tell you.’ We drove out of the stadium to the gate and asked the gatemen and they didn’t know.”

“When we couldn’t locate the place, we decided to go to the Agege Central Mosque and on our way to the mosque, we saw the school bus packed, so we knew we were at the place. I jumped down from the car when we saw the school bus and rushed in.”

“I saw the staff that went with Whitney and I asked where my child was. Why did she faint? She said ‘I don’t know, she’s in there.’ I went in there and I saw my daughter’s corpse, Desola (Whitney) didn’t say anything to me.”

“She was drenched, soaked to the skin, water was dripping. I knelt, I called on God, I shouted, I screamed. I felt her pulse, there was no pulse. My daughter was silent. I asked the doctor what happened to my daughter and he said from the look of things, she suffered from cardiac arrest.”

“I wonder how my 12-year-old daughter will suffer a cardiac arrest without any pre-existing heart condition or medical condition, Whitney was hale and hearty when the school bus picked her up for the event.”

“Let me state that by the time I got there, my daughter’s lips and tongue had already turned black. My child was not taken to a hospital, she was taken to an immunisation centre but that is not even my pain.”

“My pain is there was no proper first aid management, there was nothing that was done for her; she was brought to the hospital dead.”