In the ongoing case between State Government and Chrisland School, Mr. Jubril Yakubu, a prosecution witness, testified before a Lagos State High Court, Ikeja and stated that he was not aware of the three Child Protections Officers who were present at Agege Stadium on the day of the inter-house sport.
He also stated that he did not check the attendees list and had no knowledge of the three women, Mrs. Taylor, Mrs. Fajemirokun, and Mrs. Oladimeji, who were at the stadium on the inter-house sport day.
The defendants, the Cotton Candy vendor Ademoye Adewale, the school’s instructor Kuku Fatai, the principal of the school Belinda Amao, the school Nurse Victoria Nwatu, and Chrisland School Limited were charged with negligence over the death of a 12-year-old student, Whitney Adeniran, during an inter-house sports competition held at the Agege Stadium in Lagos State.
Chrisland school trained staff on safeguarding policy
Despite their not guilty plea, Mr. Yakubu confirmed that Chrisland School had trained their staff on safeguarding policy, and he agreed that the primary responsibility of school safety rests on his ministry.
As a Deputy Director with the Ministry of Youth and Social Development in Lagos State, Mr. Yakubu reaffirmed that he had no knowledge of the emergency bus that the school supposedly had on the ground on the day of the incident. He did not know if there were any first aiders present during the event.
When Mr. Yakubu was asked if he knew that the deceased’s mother had attended the inter-house sport, he replied in the affirmative but did not know if she was taken to the hospital by the school.
Mr. Yakubu confirmed that the deceased was taken to a primary health centre in Agege, which was far from the stadium. He also admitted that he did not know the time it took the school emergency bus to transport the victim to the hospital.
During the cross-examination, Mr. Ademola Animashaun, the counsel to the 4th defendant, presented GPS timing on his phone, which showed the driving distance between the stadium and the hospital to be three minutes. Mr. Yakubu reaffirmed that he wrote his report based on the findings at the meeting held on the cause of death, which was a fact-finding exercise.
He did not know whether the autopsy report was out when he wrote his report and recommended that the cause of death should be looked into.
Mr. Yakubu was asked if he knew that his report contained a wrong account because he did not capture the school’s account of what transpired on February 9, 2023. He replied in the negative and stated that he was not aware that the school got to know about the death of the deceased until after the event.
However, he confirmed that the Commissioner for Education ordered the closure of the school after the incident.
Mr. Yakubu confirmed that the doctor at Agege Central Hospital, where the deceased was taken, is a qualified medical personnel, and that the hospital is licensed.
After listening to the witness’s evidence, Justice Oyindamola Ogala adjourned further proceedings until June 3 and 6, 2024.
