Not fewer than 40 hoodlums invaded a private school, Shalom Group of Schools in Baruwa, Ipaja area of Lagos State and displaced students and teachers.
The students and management of the school could not gain access to the premises as the main entrance gate had been blocked by the land grabbers, popularly referred to as âOmo-Onileâ.
The proprietress of the school, Mrs. Adedayo Odeka, told NAN on Monday that the hoodlums were allegedly led by an âOmo Onileâ popularly known as Kaka.
âHe claimed that they had won a court judgment to take possession of our land.
âI told him to show me the judgement, as I was not aware of any court case let alone judgment but he refused.
Odeka said that the land was allocated to them by the Federal Government in 1992 and a school was built on it.
âComing out overnight and claiming the land is uncalled for.
âThis is a land we have been occupying for 30 years, students have been graduating year in and year out.
âThe land is a Federal Government allocation, we donât have any dealings with âOmo Onileâ we have all our documents,â she said.
The proprietress said that the hoodlums came on Saturday and damaged the fence and railings to gain access to the compound forcing boarding students to vacate.
She claimed that the case was reported at the Ipaja police station but that the police were incapacitated.
âWhen the case was reported, the police reluctantly followed us to the site after much pressure but could not act as the hoodlums continued with the erection of the structure,â she said.
She urged the government to arrest the perpetrators of this act and persecute them.
The security guard, Mr. Micheal Yakubu, said over 40 hoodlums, who were led by the Kaka group invaded the school around 6:00a:m on Saturday.
âThey broke the wall, removed the two main gates to gain access, claiming that the land belonged to them.
âThey brought in sand, and blocks and started digging and erecting structures on the school field.
âAfter erecting the structure beyond nine coaches, they blocked the two entrances with blocks, put a small gate, and locked it,â he said.
A parent, Mr. Osagie Igebo, said that it was disheartening for a group of people to traumatize young children and send them out of boarding school.
âThis is wrong for society and the system, it is sad, look at the kids outside, these are the future generation that we are talking about.
âWe have to change this narrative, even if there is a dispute on the property, it should be resolved amicably,â he said.
A teacher, Mrs. Ifeoma Abah, said that the land grabbers, who stormed this school on Saturday chased the students out of the hostel.
âThey chased the students out without considering whether their parents were close or far, some of them were half clad but the men didnât care.
âWe came this morning only to be denied access to the school.
âThe pupils, students, and teachers are stranded, we all have rights as Nigerians to learn,â she said.
A boarder in the school, Miss Success Afolayan, a senior secondary two student, said she felt tortured and traumatized on Saturday when the hoodlums invaded their school.
âI was traumatized, as we were running from pillar to post, this action is uncalled for, in a learning environment.
âThis is going to affect our education, as we do not know when it will be resolved,â she said.
Mrs. Oluwatoyin Okafor, the principal, said that the miscreants destroyed some of the school properties and sent them out.
âThey destroyed the wall and iron rails and burgled the generator house.
âWe were not given an audience, the security agents were standing by their side with guns threatening to shoot us if we talk.
âWe were left with no option than to call the parents of the boarders, who live in Lagos to pick them up, while we pleaded with some teachers and parents to take those who live outside Lagos home with them.
âOur students are preparing for WASCE, NECO, and JAMB, they just came to disrupt the school activities,â she said.
Another parent, Mr. Ebenezer Akande, a civil servant, said that he was shocked when he saw that the two main gates were blocked.
âAs you can see, the children could not gain access to the school.
âThe Lagos State Government should wake up and do something concerning these land grabbers,â he said.
The registrar of the school, Mr. Akinola Adebayo, said that he got an invitation letter from Zone 2, Onikan, and that someone wrote a petition against him.
âWhen I got there on Thursday, they said that they had a petition against me, that I am using charms and cultists to chase Omo-onile away from their land.
âI told them that I donât know the petitioner, after I answered the petition, the police asked the two parties (the Omo-onile) and (Shalom school) to come back today Monday, Jan. 30,?but I was surprised that the Omo-onile invaded the school on Saturday.
âWhen we called the police, they said that there was nothing they could do,â he said.
Adebayo urged the government to intervene in the matter so that the children can go back to school.
However, some students were carrying cardboard with the inscriptions such as âEducation is our rightâ, âsay no to Omo-onile oppressorsâ, âthe future is weepingâ, âKaka, why take our right from usâ, âOmo-onile, why send us out of our schoolâ, âGovernment come to our rescue, save us from land grabbersâ and many more.
The Police Public Relations Officer, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, who confirmed the story said that the case was not a criminal case.
âThe case is not a police case, it is a civil case.
âI will urge the parties not to take laws into their own hands so that a civil case will not turn to a criminal case,â he said. CONTINUE READING………………………………………….
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