According to Section 357 of the Criminal Code Act, CAP 77, LFN 1990, “Any person who has unlawful carnal knowledge of a girl or boy, without his/her consent, or with his/her consent, if the consent is obtained by force or by means of threats or intimidation of any kind, or by fear of harm, or by means of false and fraudulent representation as to the nature of the act, is guilty of an offense which is called rape.
Following the spate of sexual abuse cases across the country, findings by us reveal that Rock ‘N’ Gardens Montessori International School situated at No 4 Ule Close, Kogi State, has allegedly become a haven for adults who sexually violate innocent students under the watchful eyes and full collaboration of the school principal.
According to investigations, all hell was let loose when the family of Mr. and Mrs. Chia, who constantly frowned at and warned their daughters against indulging in sex at their tender age with a threat of been disowned from the family, discovered that their 15-year-old daughter Mary, a student of Rock ‘N’ Gardens Montessori had contracted a sexually transmitted disease (STD). This became the eye-opener into the canal activities going on within the school. When interrogated by her father, Mary revealed how she was introduced to sex and raped by her Principal’s visitor Mr. Abdulkarim Sule right inside the office of the Principal early last year. She narrated how the Principal sent her classmate to invite her to his office immediately after she finished one of her WAEC papers which she obliged.
On getting to the office, she met him in the company of his friend Abdulkarim who asked her what she understood by sex. When she could not answer, the Principal left the office and locked them in. She further disclosed that the affairs continued in the Principal’s residence after she was defiled in his office. This revelation prompted her parents to swiftly call the attention of the Nigerian Police as they o proceeded to properly investigate the sordid affairs in the school which led to the arrest of the principal and his friend Abdulkarim. The 36 years old Principal Mr. Nathaniel Ali after much interrogation by the police confessed how he aides and abets friends and “clients” who in some cases use his office in defiling the innocent students.
This was corroborated by his 34 years old friend Abdulkarim, who also confessed to using the principal’s residence at Ganaja village, a suburb of Lokoja metropolis, to perpetuate his sexual abuse. It was also alleged that several innocent students like Mary had also passed through the Principal’s devilish test and then graduated to frequenting his house where men were kept ready and waiting. The proprietor of the school Mr. Ikhani declined to comment on the matter when contacted with an excuse that police investigations are still ongoing. The case has, however, been reported to the relevant agencies in the State and Legal chambers with further actions to be taken in the coming weeks.