The public relations officer, Ministry of Works and Transport in Ebonyi State, Mr. Emmanuel Onwe, yesterday urged the management of Government Secondary School, Afikpo, to act on an alleged maltreatment of his son, Master Fruitful Onwe, by a senior student, Master Iroh Chidiebere Bright.
Describing the incident as a case of attempted murder, Onwe alleged that Bright forced his son to drink garri soaked in bleach, adding that the incident was hidden from him and the school management until his son became ill.
He stated that when the incident happened, his son was rushed to the Afikpo Medical Centre, adding that he only opened up after three days in the hospital.
“It was after three days at the Medical Center Afikpo that he confessed that Iroh Chidiebere Bright, a senior student of SS2 and house captain forced him to take the poisonous substance,” he said.
He stated that the senior student had warned him not to reveal it to anyone in the school or his parents.
“On Friday, 20th May 2022, I received a phone call from the principal telling me that my son was admitted to hospital. Furiously, I asked him what happened, and he told me that a senior student administered poisonous care on my son and he became sick.
“I immediately took a trip to Afikpo and met the principal in his office from where he delegated a male teacher who took me to Afikpo Medical Centre where my son was receiving treatment.
“There I met the vice principal and another woman. The three of them led me to where my son was. My heart was so grieved at the sight of my child lying critical ill on the hospital bed. The child who administered the poisonous garri was also there.
“When I asked my son what happened, he said that on Wednesday 18th June 2022 while he was alone outside the hostel doing manual labour, the senior student who was also the hostel captain came to him and asked him whether he would drink garri, and he replied no.
“But the senior student told him to shut up and take what he had given him immediately. My son again summoned courage and told him that he was afraid because he had never given him anything in the past.
“The senior student then insisted that he must drink the poisoned garri and warned my son not to repeat the statement. Out of fear, he succumbed to the intimidation and began to drink.
“When my son noticed that the taste was bad, he told the senior student that it had the taste of bleach, but he told him to shut up. At that point my son refused to take more of the poisoned garri against the senior student’s persuasion. He then took it from him and entered the hostel.
“After about 30 minutes, my son began to have stomach upset and pain in the throat. He quickly went to a senior student and told him his experience. The senior student then gave him palm oil to drink and warned him not to mention what happened to anybody.
“Unfortunately, the problem persisted until Thursday night when my son became very weak and could no longer breathe well. The senior student made arrangement to smuggle him out of the school and send him home. He warned my son not to mention what happened to anyone including me and my wife if he gets home.
“Early in the morning while the senior student with the help of other two senior students were carrying my son on the back to sneak him out of the school, some teachers noticed what was going on and intercepted them.
“The senior student and his friends maintained that nothing was wrong with my son but the evidence was already there as my son could not stand on his feet but was as well afraid to open up.”
When contacted, the principal of the school, Mr. Ogbonnia Nwachi, said the culprits had been expelled from the school.
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