The Chrisland schools sex tape incident has brought to the fore the silent, but growing problem of child-on-child sexual abuse. Shockingly, there is hardly any direct provision on the issue in the Child’s Rights Act, Children and Young Persons Act (CYPA), Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Act and other child-friendly laws, leaving government and other regulators handicapped in checking the menace, reports ROBERT EGBE.
It took almost 17 years after she left secondary school for Obiamaka Azubike to muster the courage to name the students she holds responsible for her May 1, 2000 ordeal
Azubike told her story in papers filed on her behalf by her lawyers at Falana and Falana Chambers at the Lagos High Court.
She stated that on that May Day night, she was sexually and physically assaulted by 13 of her schoolmates. She was, at the time, a final year student and the Public Relations (PR) Prefect at her alma mater, Olashore International School (OIS) in Osun State.
Azubike filed her statement in defence to a suit by a former school prefect al OIS, Okwuchi Ogboi.
It reads in part. “On the 1st of May 2001, the school hosted its annual entry exams onsite, and the Defendant (Azubike) as PR Prefect had what seemed to be a perfect day until the fateful night.
Senior House Debates/Public Speaking was held in the main school hall that night around 8pm and the Defendant went to the hill with three of her female classmates only to be told that SS3 students were exempted from attending the event as they had exams to write soon. The Defendant and her friend subsequently decided to return to the hostel.
“While the Defendant and her friend were heading back to their hostel that night, the Defendant was sexually assaulted by 13 of her male classmates, including the Claimant, as they all inserted their hands, gripping and thrusting into all the sensitive parts of her body with utmost disregard and as well laughing at her tears till help came.
“She managed to run while the assaulters, including the Claimant, chased her but when they realised that she was headed towards Dr. Burgess, the School Principal’s residence, they all tactically withdrew.”
Ogbol, now a Senior Special Adviser to the Delta Suite Governor on Special Duties, denied any involvement in any such incident, describing Azubike’s claims earlier made on social media, as false and libellous.
He is seeking N250million from Azubike for the alleged severe injury he suffered because of Azubike’s alleged defamatory publications against him.
On her part, Azubike is countersuing for N510million as damages from Ogboi for the alleged sexual and physical assault.
In February, OIS, the Trustees of Olashore International School Association, and proprietor of OIS, inaugurated a five-member panel of inquiry to unravel the truth and make recommendations on the incident.
Pupil-on-pupil sex scandal
Last week, another pupil-on-pupil sex scandal hit the headlines following a leaked sex tape involving several minors of the highbrow Chrisland Schools.
One of the children’s mum alleged that her then 10-year-old daughter was raped during a trip to Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which was organised by the school.
Pupils from the private school were in Dubai to participate in the World School Games between March 10 and 13, 2022.
In a viral video shared on April 18 by music executive Ubi Franklin, via his Instagram page, the woman claimed that she was not aware of what happened in Dubai till another parent showed her the video of the incident.
“As I was beating my daughter, she opened up to me and said the school threatened her not to speak out … My daughter was dying in silence and I did not know. Every day, I would be forcing her out of the room but she wouldn’t want to go to school,” she said.
She alleged that the school “attempted to hide the issue” and that her daughter was taken for pregnancy tests “without my knowledge.”
She added: “When I asked her what happened, my daughter said on the day of the incident, they went out in the morning to have breakfast and one of the boys begged her to lend him her phone charger which she did.
“She said later in the evening the boy called her room and asked her to come for the charger in his room. So she went there. When she got to the room for the charger, they opened the door and one of the boys asked her to go and get her charger inside the toilet. She could it was when she entered the toilet that the boys surrounded her and asked her to drink a substance.
“She said they were all under the influence of drugs after that and she did not know what she was doing again. My daughter said the boys asked her to climb on them while one of them was filming and sending out the videos.”
Chrisland’s position
Chrisland Schools authorities had, in a letter dated April 14, 2022, to the girl’s parents, suspended the pupil, claiming that she was the ringleader of a truth or dare game held in Dubai.
“In line with our core values centred on discipline, Chrisland Schools have zero tolerance for any improper behaviour and misconduct,” the school said in the letter signed by its principal Georgia Azike.
The school disclosed that other schoolmates who took part in the game had been suspended too, alleging that the girl and her parents did not cooperate during its investigation.
Similarly, on December 19, 2020, an 1I-year-old Junior Secondary School (ISS) 1 student of Deeper Life High School in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State was allegedly molested and subjected to inhumane torture in the school.
The boy’s mother, Deborah Okezie raised the alarm on social media after going to pick up her son at the end of the term. It was reported that the pupil narrated how he suffered at the hands of a teacher and students in his dormitory who sexually assaulted him by sticking their hands in his anus when others were sleeping.
Afterwards, six of the members of staff of the school, including the principal, vice principal and housemaster were arraigned at a magistrate’s court for sexual molestation, maltreatment, starvation, and negligence
Child-on-child sexual abuse/ Children in conflict with the law
The OIS, Deeper Life and Chrisland schools incidents are examples of what experts refer to as child-on-child sexual abuse.
A Cross River State-based activist-lawyer James Ibor, described child-on-child sexual abuse with reference to the Chirisland schools sex tape saga as an example of “children in conflict with the law.”
Three University of Miami researchers, Jon A. Shaw, John E. Lewis, Andrea Loeb, James Rosado and Rosemarie A. Rodriguez in their book “Child on child sexual abuse: Psychological perspectives” defined child-on-child sexual abuse as a form of child sexual abuse in which a prepubescent child is sexually abused by one or more children or adolescents, and in which no adult is directly involved.
They noted that this includes when one of the children uses physical force, threats, trickery or emotional manipulation to elicit cooperation.
It also can include non-coercive situations where the initiator proposes or starts a sexual act that the victim does not understand the nature of and simply goes along with, not comprehending its Implications or what the consequences might be.
While child-on-child sexual abuse is fairly well-researched in western jurisdictions, it is only becoming increasingly recognised as a problem in the developing world.
For instance, an analysis of the phenomenon” by a South African Dr. Shaheda Omar found that child-on-child sexual abuse in South Africa has been recognised only recently as a significant social problem, reflected in the dearth of research on it.
In “A study of child-on-child sexual abuse of children under 12 years”, Omar quoted data showing that an estimated 42 per cent of sexual offences reported to Childline, were committed by other children.
Consequence on children
Shaw, Lewis, Loeb, Rosado and Rodriguez found that child sex victims are exposed to clinical issues including attention problems, delinquent behaviour, sex problems, social problems, thought problems, withdrawn behaviour, and other emotional and behavioural problems.
Is the menace widespread?
The World Health Organization (WHO) definition of Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) seems to cover the phenomenon. It describes CSA as the involvement of a child in sexual activity that he or she does not fully comprehend, is unable to give informed consent to, or for which the child is not developmentally prepared and cannot give consent, or that violate the laws or social taboos of society. Any form of sexual touching exposure to pornographic content or even taking of sexual images through filming or photography will also amount to child sexual abuse.
There is anecdotal evidence that the phenomenon is not uncommon locally. Many Nigerians are aware of instances where children have been caught engaging in age-inappropriate sexual behaviour, including child-on-child abuse.
An Ikeja High Court in Lagos on February 14, 2022, discharged and acquitted a part-time Arabic teacher, Mr. Anisere Sulaimon, of a defilement and sexual assault charge after he spent almost four years in detention.
Justice R. A. Oshodi noted that the evidence showed that it was a relation of the child, one Kehinde Adedeji – himself a minor at the time -that used to have carnal knowledge of her, not Sulaimon.
The judge noted further that the prosecution witness said Adedeji, an uncle to the child, confessed to the crime of defiling the four-year-old.
“Under cross-examination, PW] (Prosecution Witness 1) said that one Kehinde Adedeji, who is an uncle to the victim, confessed to the crime of defiling the victim,” Justice Oshodi held.
Laws largely silent
However, Nigerian laws are largely silent on child-on-child sexual abuse, suggesting that it is not acknowledged as a major menace.
The Criminal Code, applicable in Southern Nigeria, and the Penal Code, applicable in Northern Nigeria, both make provisions for the related offences of rape and defilement.
For instance, Section 216 of the Criminal Code regards the indecent treatment of minors under 14 as an offence of felony liable to imprisonment for seven years if done without consent. Section 218 of the Criminal Code recognises the defilement of girls under the age of 13 as an offence of felony liable to imprisonment for life. Section 221 of the Criminal Code provides that the defilement of girls under 16 and above 13 as an offence of misdemeanour is liable for imprisonment of two years.
The Child Rights Act 2010 also requires that the well-being of every child must be respected and considered paramount and provides that sex with a child is rape, and anyone who has sexual Intercourse with a child is liable to imprisonment for life upon conviction.
Under the heading “Unlawful Sexual Intercourse, etc.,” Section 31(3) states that “Where a person is charged with an offence under this section, it is immaterial that (a) the offender believed the person to be of or above the age of eighteen years; or (b) the sexual intercourse was with the consent of the child.”
However, in cases of child-on-child sexual abuse, the participants are minors, thus, rendering the provisions directly inapplicable.
Can minors commit rape?
The actors in the Chrisland Schools video appear to all be minors. But a child’s mum raised rape allegations. Can a rape charge against any of the pupils be sustained?
Human rights lawyer Bukky Shonibare weighed in on the matter.
Shonibare, the Executive Director, Invictus Africa, said: “Nigerian law is silent as it relates to statutory rape generally and by statutory rape; which is the argument in relation to the Chrisland Schools case, is to say that when (sex) occurs presumably between an adult and a child who has not attained the statutory age of consent, such kind of act is deemed as statutory rape.
“Section 31 of the Child’s Rights Act clearly states that 18 years is the age of consent In the Chrisland case issue; these children are between the ages of 11 and 13 years old, so, generally, they do not fall under the age for us to say that statutory rape has happened.
“Also, our criminal laws generally, i.e. Section 357 of the Criminal Code Act, Section 282 of the Penal Code Act and Section 1 of the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Act do not talk about statutory rape. So, none of the laws we currently have in Nigeria contemplate situations where both the perpetrators and victims, as in this case, are minors. If any legal or criminal action is brought, it will have to be decided on the general case of rape.
Can ‘Romeo and Juliet’ laws help?
Shonibare cited laws in the West as examples of what Nigeria can emulate.
She said: “What countries like the United States and the United Kingdom have done is to enact what they call the “Rome and Juliet” laws, or the “Close in age exemption”.
“Such exemption contemplates that rape could also occur between minors and when such rape happens, what that law does is to serve as a legal basis to prevent criminal prosecution of both the perpetrator and the victim, considering that they are close in age and generally within four years apart.
“So, our laws generally are silent on statutory rape and no exemption in our criminal laws provide for that.
“Even if a crime is presumed to have been committed, which has not been committed in this regard, the law that will be used for these children is our Children and Young Persons Act (CYPA) but we must note that in that particular Act, it is provided that children between the ages of seven and 12 cannot be held criminally responsible unless it can be proven that such children have the capacity i.e. the mental capacity to know that their actions or omissions should not have been carried out in the first place and if they know the implications of such actions.
Jurisdiction to prosecute
The Chrisland Schools incident occurred in Dubai. Can Nigerian law enforcement agencies exercise jurisdiction in this case?
Shonibare does not think so.
She said: “In this particular case, it happened outside of jurisdiction. There can be some form of jurisdiction for Nigeria, because this case happened with Nigerian citizens and who are guided by Nigerian laws.
“Now the question is, the incident that happened, is it currently a crime in Nigeria? It is not, so we cannot say that there is some form of jurisdiction. Section 36(8) of the 1999 Constitution essentially says that a person cannot be said to have committed a crime if such act does not constitute a crime at the time it was committed. As it is right now, no Nigerian law has provided that such an act between children, as in this case, is a crime. So, we cannot say that there will be some form of repatriation or anything in this regard, considering that they are children and that act is not criminalised.”
Negligence claims can be sustained
The rights activist reasoned that a claim for negligence against the school is possible.
She said: “What can be done is that there seems to have been negligence on the part of Chrisland Schools, and because of that, the parents of the children can bring an action against the school.
“Administrative action can also be taken by the Lagos State Government.
“The issues around pregnancy test carried out without the consent of the parent can also be brought up considering the contact that exists between the parents and children that are going to school.
“Finally, on the basis that we expect such schools to have policies that address issues like this, the implications or penalties that apply in that regard, should also be invoked in this particular situation.“
Indiscriminate sharing of porn on social media
The Chrisland incident gained traction online because of the leaked sex tape.
Just like the Lagos State Government, Shonibare also has a warning for those sharing the video.
“When it comes to cases of social media sharing of pornographic or sexual activity, especially as it relates to minors, the Cybercrimes Act is actually quite clear on that. Sections 23 and 24 of the act criminalises the sharing of such kind of videos, especially as it does not serve the interests of the children, both the victims, i.e., the children in this case, and their parents. It is an act that is criminalised. Those who watch or share it are committing a crime based on the Cybercrime Act,“ she said.
Causes of child-on-child-sexual abuse
Many experts agree that in the case of child-on-child sexual abuse, minors who have not matured sexually are normally incapable of knowing about specific sex acts without an external source. Thus children who initiate or solicit overtly sexual acts with other children most often have been sexually victimised by an adult beforehand, or by another child who was in turn abused by an adult. In some instances, the perpetrating child may have been exposed to pornography or repeatedly witnessed sexual activity of adults at a very young age.
Experts also note that children who experience an unwanted sexual approach may not realise that this act was a crime against themselves.
The National Parent-Teacher Association of Nigeria (NAPTAN) alluded to this with reference to the Chrisland incident.
Deputy National President of the Association, Adeolu Ogunbanjo said: “Honestly, it is a shame and a very sad one. I have watched the video and from what I saw there, it is as a result of poor parenting, indiscipline and improper counselling on sex education.
“There is also an administrative deficit, because even though they are children, boys and girls are not supposed to be together in the same hotel room, as seen in the video.”
How to protect children
Funmi Falana, National Director of Women Empowerment and Legal Aid (WELA), gave tips on how to protect children.
She endorsed the Child’s Rights Act “which provides that a child shall have proper guardianship that is in consonance with the culture and moral behaviour applicable in Nigeria. So where a child is not given proper guardianship, the law allows the Ministry of Social Welfare to withdraw the child from the parents and put the child in the government’s custody while the parents will also be monitored pending when the parents will be properly rehabilitated such that they will be able to give proper guardianship.”
Duty of government, schools
Editor-in-chief of franktalknow.com, Dr. Olabisi Deji-Folutile, who has a special interest in education and health issues, advised the state and Chrisland schools to set up a council to investigate and make recommendations on how to stop future incidents.
Deji-Folutile said: “The state could establish a council saddled with the responsibility of performing that responsibility. Such council could be made up of educationists in the public and private sectors, who have a track record of integrity. That way, a seamless process of investigation and punishment is established.
“In the same vein, there should be well laid-down punishment for erring schools. The sanction could be as stiff as a complete take-over of a school that failed to do due diligence in caring for the children in their care.
“The schools themselves should have proper rules of engagement. Part of the problem is that some of these elitist schools often relax their rules in order to attract students, hence they tend to overlook deviant behaviours or pretend not to know certain things. They tend to naturally want to cover some evils so that they can continue to keep the students in school. This isn’t strange. Many of them are guided by economic motives. But by the time they know that certain things can end their existence, they are likely to weigh things before covering up for any student.
“The government can ban children in primary and secondary schools from operating certain social media accounts; schools can do so too. Such a ban would have prevented a situation in which a child could run a social media account with thousands of followers.”
