16-year-old student electrocuted on school grounds in Abuja

Meshack Agaba, a 16-year-old student at Government Science Secondary School in the Maitama neighborhood of the Federal Capital Territory, passed away from electrocution on the school’s grounds.

It was exclusively learned by PUNCH Metro that the event took place on Wednesday.

The deceased student was unintentionally stepping on an electric cable that had tripped off an electric pole inside the school compound when he was on his way to get water from a tap on Monday, according to one of the parents who was aware of the incident but spoke to our correspondent on condition of anonymity.

“The electric pole and the cable had been lying in the area prior to the incident,” the source stated. The administration of the school took no action in the matter. Agaba, on the other hand, attempted to get water last Wednesday morning since they usually get up at five in the morning.

“My child and the boy both reside in the same hostel. Because the area was slick, he walked on a conductor by accident while attempting to regain equilibrium, which resulted in an instant electrocution. It surprises me that the school administration has not fixed that pole even after the event. The boy’s photo was the only thing the administration did; they just put it up on a wall and said, “Gone too soon.”

The worried parent further bemoaned the fact that, in spite of the event, the administration of the school had been attempting to alter the story once the police were called, asserting that the youngster had intended to leap the fence when the cable fell on him.

“They didn’t say the thing that led to the boy’s death,” the person continued. They acted as though it were commonplace. Regarding the incident, nothing was said. The Parent-Teacher Association’s social media account has been locked since the event. Discussions regarding the occurrence on that platform by parents are prohibited. It is among the best secondary schools in the Federal Capital Territory.

“Even the principal was picked up by the police.” The administration of the school told a falsehood, claiming that the youngster was trying to climb over the fence when the cable fell on him. At that time of day, how could someone who was only wearing a towel try to leap the fence?

“My child also told me that the school security had asked for their exit card as they were rushing him to the hospital. The delay claimed the boy’s life. The school refused to accept accountability for what transpired. While academic activities continue, the fallen pole has not been replaced to yet. The administration of the institution remained silent about it.

When PUNCH Metro reporter reached out to Mrs. Dogo Suzie, the vice principal overseeing the school’s administration on Tuesday, she refused to listen to our explanation that our correspondent lives in Lagos State and insisted that he visit the school to learn more about the incident. She also refuted the management’s allegation that the deceased was attempting to scale the fence.

“Why don’t you find time to visit the school?” she said. You can schedule a visit to the school. Had nothing been done, it would have been picked up by other journalists. The boy’s attempt to jump the fence was not even acknowledged by the school. Not even in the police report we provided the authorities did it say so. We omitted any mention of the boy’s attempted fence-jumping. He wasn’t attempting to scale the barrier.

“Everything is under police control. Thus, if you are a journalist seeking the real story behind an incident, you need to have contacted the police. You will learn about all of our submissions from them. I will also suggest that you visit the school if you wish to learn everything. It’s not a secret problem. We did not say that the youngster was attempting to scale the fence. What makes you desire to stay away from the scene?

“You will meet worried folks when you come here. You are welcome to speak with the school’s principal. Additionally, you can conduct student interviews. You can’t just phone, and we’ll start telling you things without having actually visited the location to see what happened and spoken with witnesses.

However, when PUNCH Metro called the FCT Police Public Relations Officer, Josephine Adeh, on Monday, she confirmed the event. She revealed that the matter was being looked into by the command.

When questioned if the police knew about the event, her response was a simple “Yes, we are.”

She merely said, “The case is under investigation,” in response to a follow-up question about if any arrests had been made since the event. I’m not allowed to comment further on a matter that’s still being investigated until the investigation is over.