10 students hospitalised as police, cult groups clash in Lagos schools

Some cult groups reported to be students of Community Senior Grammar School and Ikotun High School at Ikotun in the Alimosho Local Government Area of Lagos State clashed on Wednesday, January 31.

This medium learnt that the faceoff resulted from longtime rivalry among the cult groups.

The police were said to have intervened to restore peace in the fight, which started after closing hours.

Noting the officers’ intervention, the fighting groups started to hurl dangerous objects at them.

However, the situation deteriorated as the officers called for reinforcement and, after that, shot tear gas canisters into the premises of the school to disperse the fighting groups.

It was reported that the incident led to a stampede as some of the students were injured, while the asthmatic ones among them reportedly slumped in the process.

Bimbo, one of the parents of the students, said about 10 students were hospitalised.

She said: “The quarrel between some of the students of both schools started immediately when the school closed. One of the boys took a bottle and broke it, and the police officers close to the school saw that they quickly wanted to address the issue, but the Community Senior Grammar School students started throwing stones and planks at them.

“The police then retreated towards the main road. On getting there, they met another patrol van coming, alerted them and went back into the school. But the mistake they made was throwing teargas inside the school compound because they had to force their way into the compound with the patrol van.

“The moment they shot the teargas and started shooting into the air, the students started running and that caused a stampede, and you know some of the students have health challenges. The teargas affected them, and some of them started to collapse while some got injured during the stampede. One of them is asthmatic.”

“The affected students were rushed to a nearby health centre before being transferred to Igando General Hospital,” she added.

A viral video showed one of the affected students lying on the bare floor while she was placed on oxygen.

An eyewitness who pleaded anonymity said some students were arrested and locked up at the Ikotun Police Station.

“So many innocent students were picked and locked up until the following day when we had to go and protest at the police station because we know some innocent students who were picked while the troublemakers escaped because they are smart,” the eyewitness stated.

A parent, Israel Olusegun, said he had withdrawn his two children from the school due to the incident.

He, however, urged the Lagos State government to relocate one of the schools for peace.

He said: “The students of Community Grammar School are very tough. There was a time when the parents were contemplating that (relocation) for peace to reign.

“This is not the first time this is happening. Sometimes, they quarrel with students of the Technical School close to them, and sometimes, when they start, the teachers and even the principal would run away. We have been hearing about cultism in the school. This incident is one of the unfortunate things that have been happening in the school,” Olusegun added.

Gbenga Omotoso, the state Commissioner for Information, said an investigation had been launched to unearth the cause of the incident.

He said, “The Commissioner for Education has visited the school. Investigation is going on into the matter.”