The Kaduna State Government has shut down Ffad Goshen Academy, Gumei, a private school in Kachia Local Government Area of the state where a driver was alleged to have sexually defiled a four-year-old minor with hearing and speech impairments.
The four-year-old girl, an only child was said to have been violated on the school premises.
Tyinmvak Musa ,the father accused the school proprietress of wanting to cover-up “because she works with the government and is very powerful”.
He said: “The proprietress said sympathising with my family over our daughter’s predicament will mean her accepting that the girl was violated in her school. Even an invitation from the police for the amicable settlement of the case was rebuffed by her.
“My daughter is hearing and speech impaired but because she was eager to learn how to write, that was why we enrolled her in school so that she could learn. On Friday, June 10, I put her on the school bus with about three other children in the vehicle around 6:30 am that fateful day. When we did not see her around noon, her mother was disturbed.
“However, around 2 pm, the school bus returned and parked in front of our shop. My wife went to the bus to receive our daughter. When I saw the girl, I knew all was not well with her. When I carried her from the mother, she was touching her lower abdomen and bombom demonstrating how she was slapped and penetrated by someone.
“Since she was just coming from school, we were eager to know who must have done that to her in the school. We tried to give her food but she refused. She then slept after a while. Amazingly, when she woke up, she rushed outside to urinate but she urinated on her body and that got me worried because she had never done that before.
“It was when my wife removed her pant and saw blood stain that it dawned on us that someone had capitalised on her condition to defile her. That was how we managed through that night. Then we realised it was long before daybreak.
“The following day, which was Saturday, June 11, we took her to a hospital where a doctor confirmed she was penetrated. At that time, the doctor was trying to push back her womb inside. The girl was groaning, shouting and crying. Tears rolled down freely on our cheeks as we were referred to the General Hospital, Kachia, where another doctor confirmed the absence of hymen, and loss of virginity.
“The doctor prescribed drugs for us and recommended six tests. That was on Sunday, June 12. As we were returning from the General Hospital, Kachia, we went straight to the house of the proprietress of the school, who claimed to be so powerful because she is working in Government House.
“She collected my number and told me that she would get back to us. Along the line, we were shuttling between the school and the hospital. But, when we saw that we were not making progress, we then involved the Police.
“She was not feeling concerned at all. She didn’t even bother to check on the girl. Police then swung into action and arrested three staff of the school – the head teacher, our daughter’s class teacher and the school bus driver. The school bus driver later turned out as the prime suspect.”
Bukola Ajao, lawyer and rights activist, said the girl had described how someone slapped her and used her hand to cover her mouth and had sexual intercourse with her.
“I am following up on the case to ensure that justice was served on the culprit. The only suspect with the state police command is the school driver. We met a Deputy Commissioner of Police who referred us back to the Gender Unit. The matter has been referred to the Legal Department,” the lawyer said.
Hijaya Hafsat Baba ,the Commissioner for Human Services and Social Development, said the school was closed to allow proper investigation into the matter.
“We felt bad because of the circumstances of the child. The girl cannot speak or hear. We saw that she was truly severely damaged. We have gone to the hospital and they would undergo corrective surgery.
“The government of Kaduna State will take responsibility for the surgery because she is our girl. The school has been closed down because it is still under investigation. That school will remain closed until all investigations are concluded and until we get clearance from the court because that girl deserves justice and that is what we are going to do,” she said.