16-year-old student electrocuted on Abuja school premises

A tragedy struck Government Science Secondary School in the Maitama area of the Federal Capital Territory when a 16-year-old boy identified as Meshack Agaba died of electrocution inside the school premises.

Freelanews exclusively gathered that the incident happened last Wednesday.

One of the parents who was privy to the incident but spoke on condition of anonymity, on Monday, disclosed to our correspondent that the deceased student was on his way to fetch water from a tap when he unknowingly stepped on an electric cable that had tripped off an electric pole inside the school compound.

The source said, “The electric pole and the cable had been lying in the area before the incident. The school management didn’t do anything about it. However, Agaba was trying to fetch water last Wednesday morning because they normally wake up at 5am to fetch water.

“The boy is in the same hostel as my child. The place was slippery, and as he was trying to regain balance, he mistakenly stepped on the conductor, and he was electrocuted instantly. I’m surprised that even after the incident, that pole has not been fixed by the school management. The only thing the management did was post the picture of the boy on a wall with the ‘Gone too soon’ inscription.”

The concerned parent also lamented that despite the incident, the school management had been trying to change the narrative after the police were involved, claiming that the boy had wanted to jump the fence when the cable fell on him.

The source added, “They didn’t say the thing that led to the boy’s death. They pretended as if it were just a normal thing. Nothing was said about the incident. Since the incident happened, the Parent-Teacher Association’s social media platform has been locked. Parents are not allowed to speak about the incident on that platform. The school is one of the top secondary schools in the FCT.

“The police even came to pick up the principal. The school management lied, saying that the boy was trying to jump through the fence when the cable fell on him. How can someone who was only wearing a towel attempt to jump the fence at that time of the day?

“I also learnt from my child that when they were rushing him to the hospital, the school security was asking for their exit card. The boy died as a result of the delay. The school did not want to take responsibility for what happened. To date, the fallen pole has not been fixed while academic activities are ongoing. The school management didn’t even say anything about it.”

When Press contacted the vice principal in charge of administration of the school on Tuesday, Mrs. Dogo Suzie, despite explaining to her that our correspondent resides in Lagos State, she insisted that he must travel down to the school premises to find out about the incident, while also denying that the management claimed that the deceased was trying to jump the fence.

She said, “Why don’t you find time to come to the school? You can find time to come to the school. If anything had not been done, other journalists would have taken it up. The school did not even claim that the boy was trying to jump the fence. Nobody said that even in the police report that we gave the police. We did not say that the boy was trying to jump the fence. He was not trying to jump the fence.’’

“Everything is with the police. So if you are a journalist and you want to get the true account of an event, you should have gone through the police. They will tell you about all our submissions. And if you want to know everything, I will advise you to come to the school. It is not a hidden issue. We never said the boy was trying to jump the fence. Why don’t you want to come to the scene?

“When you come here, you will meet people who are concerned. You can interview the principal of the school. And you can even interview the students. You can’t just call, and then we start giving you stories when you have not come to the scene of the incident to actually see what happened and interview people.”

But the FCT Police Public Relations Officer, Josephine Adeh, confirmed the incident when Press contacted her on Monday. She disclosed that the command had begun an investigation into the incident.

She simply said, “Yes, we are,” when asked whether the police were aware of the incident.

When further asked whether any arrest had been made since the incident, she simply added, “The case is under investigation. I can’t say more about a case that is still under investigation until we conclude the investigation.”