The Ogun State Government has suspended the principals of both the junior and senior sections of Ilugun High School, Elega, Abeokuta, following the tragic death of a student during a protest in the school.
The State Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Professor Abayomi Arigbabu, announced the suspension while addressing journalists in Abeokuta on Monday.
He said the decision would remain in effect pending the outcome of a full-scale investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident.
According to the Commissioner, preliminary findings revealed that the principal of the junior school, Mrs. Alaba Olukoga, allegedly engaged in illegal fee collection, which reportedly triggered a protest among the students.
Professor Arigbabu explained that local security operatives were invited to restore order during the protest, but in the ensuing chaos, one of the students attempted to flee by jumping over a fence into a nearby river and was later confirmed dead.
He said that although the senior school principal, Mrs. Temitope Ladipo, was not directly implicated in the alleged illegal collection, her suspension was necessary to ensure transparency and fairness in the ongoing probe.
“The suspension of both principals is to allow for a thorough and unbiased investigation. Government will not tolerate any act that endangers the lives of students or undermines the integrity of our public schools,” Arigbabu said.
The Commissioner expressed the state government’s condolences to the bereaved family, describing the death as painful and irreparable.
He assured that anyone found culpable would face appropriate sanctions in accordance with the law.
He also appealed to students to remain calm and avoid acts of vandalism, warning that destroying school property would only deepen existing challenges of inadequate infrastructure.
Arigbabu reaffirmed the commitment of the Dapo Abiodun-led administration to providing free and qualitative education across the state and promised that the findings of the investigation would be made public in due course.
