The Lagos State Police Command has arrested one Kosisochukwu Ogumbo of the Okota area for allegedly sending bomb threat messages to two schools in the Ikeja Government Reserved Area (GRA) last week.
The Command also confirmed the arrest of eight additional members of a notorious “one chance” robbery syndicate, alongside the recovery of four operational vehicles allegedly used by the gang to rob unsuspecting residents across Lagos.
Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Olohundare Jimoh, disclosed this during a briefing with journalists at the Command Headquarters in Ikeja.
According to him, at about 4:00 p.m. on January 20, 2026, the Human Resources Manager and Chief Security Officer of the affected schools separately reported to the Ikeja Divisional Police Headquarters that they had received threatening WhatsApp messages from the same unidentified phone number.
The messages claimed that explosive devices had been planted within the school premises.
Following the reports, security operatives were immediately deployed to the area, including personnel from the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Unit, the Counter-Terrorism Unit (CTU), and other tactical squads, to secure the schools and assess the threat.
He said, “After a thorough sweep of the premises, no explosive device was found and the schools were immediately declared safe. Police investigations led to the arrest of Kosiso Chukwuem-Nenyem, a resident of Okota, identified as the sender of the threat messages.”
The Police boss added that although the suspect claimed he lost his phone in November 2025, police investigations revealed he continued to receive calls from family members during the period the threats were issued. The SIM card was also recovered from him.
“This individual acted alone and deliberately attempted to cause panic among parents and school authorities. He will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law,” the CP stated.
In other developments, the CP said the latest arrests of eight more members of ‘one chance’ bring the total number of suspects apprehended in connection with the syndicate to 21, adding that the gang had been fully dismantled, and that the breakthrough was a result of sustained intelligence-led policing and cooperation from members of the public.
He described the gang as a “double-edged” criminal network, explaining that victims who complied were robbed and released, while those who resisted were detained and their families contacted for ransom under the guise of kidnapping.
“They are a double-edged sword criminal gang. If you cooperate with them, they take what you have and let you go. If you resist, they detain you and contact your family to demand ransom,” he said.
The commissioner added that the suspects also took victims to a shrine in the Idimu area of the state, where they were forced to swear oaths, while some were deceived with promises of dollar investment schemes.
“All the suspects have confessed to the crime. Some victims have also come forward to identify them. Investigation is ongoing, and they will be prosecuted accordingly,” he added
Among the 25 recovered vehicles linked to different offenses, including robbery, fraud, and theft, was a Toyota Camry 2007 model with registration number ABJ 582 LB, reportedly stolen in the early hours of January 25, 2026, after the owner left the engine running while entering a supermarket.
The suspect, Jaffon Godswill, was subsequently arrested, and the vehicle was recovered the following day during a stop-and-search operation in the area.
He added that operatives of the command intercepted three suspected vandals who removed 154 electronic reflective markers from the Third Mainland Bridge during patrol operations.
In addition, the police boss announced the strengthening of the School Protection Squad, established by the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, to cover Lagos East, West, and Central districts.
Headquarters are located at Ikorodu (East), Idimu (West), and Lion Building, Lagos Island (Central).
The CP also disclosed the deployment of Eko-Strike Force, Rapid Response Squad (RRS), and a newly established Nightlife Patrol Squad to secure entertainment hubs, hotels, and recreational centres across Lagos.
“The entire Lagos State is safe. Residents, investors, and visitors are encouraged to go about their lawful activities without fear”, he said.
He commended officers and men of the Command for their dedication and reiterated the command’s commitment to protecting lives, property, and investments in Lagos State.
Private and public schools in Lagos State are expected to resume academic activities on Monday (tomorrow), the Lagos State Deputy-Governor, Dr. Idiat Adebule, has directed. This was disclosed in a statement signed by the Director General, Education Quality Assurance, Mrs. Ronke Soyombo. The statement quoted Adebule as saying the directive came as a result of the change in election dates.
“The state government is compelled by the change in election dates to further review the 2018/19 school academic calendar. While all schools are to resume on Monday 18th February, all schools in Lagos State are also expected to close on the following dates: Friday, 22nd of February and to resume on Monday 25th; Friday, 8th March 2019 and to resume on Monday 11th March,” said Soyombo. The statement also directed all private schools, school leaders and school associations to take note and adhere strictly.
As part of its Corporate Social Responsibility projects, Greenlife Pharmaceuticals Limited,has donated free exercise books to secondary school students in all the Local Government Development Areas across Lagos State.
The first phase of the project which kicked off on Friday in Surulere Local Government area on Lagos mainland saw officials and representatives of the company donating thousands of exercise books to students of Ansar-Udeen High School, Falolu and Obele Community Senior Secondary School.
Other schools were Gbaja Girls Secondary School and the New Era Girls Secondary School. Addressing officials and students of Ansar-Udeen where the event started, Folabi Olusola who spoke on behalf of the management of Greenlife said the books’ donation to the students was the company’s modest contribution to the educational growth and development of the pupils.
In her speech, the special guest of honour, Chief (Mrs) Lateefat Gbajabiamila, while thanking Greenlife for their laudable initiative, urged the students to face their studies. Chief Gbajabiamila, who is the mother of Femi Gbajabiamila, who represents Surulere constituency in the national assembly, admonished the students and thanked the donors of the books.
A member of the House of Representatives representing Ifako-Ijaiye federal constituency Mr Nurudeen Olaitan Akinwunmi has donated tables and chairs to head teachers and pupils of four public schools in Ifako-Ijaiye.
Akinwunmi said learning aids form a part of his intervention programme towards providing a conducive learning environment to pupils of public schools in his constituency.
Akinwunmi said time has called for well-meaning Nigerians to join hands with the government in making life more abundant for the masses.
He said: “Lagos State has the highest number of public schools, highest number of students as well as teachers and spreading infrastructure to all the schools in order to improve access to quality education would no doubt pose a big challenge; that is why everyone must join hands with the government to fill the gaps.
“If we have a governor, who is performing like we have in Akinwunmi Ambode, we should complement his effort, and that informed my decision to present this as part of my intervention progammes.”
Akinwunmi, a member of the House Committee on Basic Education and Services, said the pitiable condition of most schools he visited across the country in furtherance of the committee’s oversight functions informed the donation as part of his constituency project under the Universal Basic Education programme.
He listed the beneficiary schools as African Church Primary School, Idi-Agbon; Ogundimu Primary School, Iju; New Oko Oba Primary School; and Agbado-Ijaiye Primary School II, both in Ojokoro, adding that they form the first phase of the programme.
Another set of school furniture, he said, would be distributed to All Saints Primary School; Fagba; Bishop Oluwole, Community Primary School, Ajuwon; Ebenezer Primary School; as well as Gbeleyi Primary School in Ojokoro.
Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) Chairman, Dr Ganiu Shopeyin, said Akinwunmi has set a standard that ought to be copied as the best from a political office holder.
He urged leaders and well-meaning individuals to join in providing a conducive learning environment for education, especially at the basic level, which he said is the foundation of the entire learning process.
The Lagos State wing of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) on Friday said about 16,000 teachers are needed to adequately cater for government-owned primary and secondary schools in the state.
The state chairman of NUT, Mr. Segun Raheem, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), in Lagos that 9,000 teachers would be needed in the primary schools and 7,000 in secondary schools.
Raheem said the situation in the schools is pathetic as the 1,300 teachers recently recruited could not cover the huge shortage of teachers experienced in the schools.
“Thousands of teachers have retired from June 2015, to date. Lack of teachers in our schools is now becoming a major issue.
“A teacher taking two to three classes with about 60 to 90 students in each class is not professional,’’ he said.
Lagos State House of Assembly Thursday at plenary called for a stakeholders’ summit on the promotion of the teaching of Yoruba language in private and public schools.
The resolution followed a motion moved by the Majority Leader, Mr Sanai Agunbiade and seconded by Mr Segun Olulade, the Chairman, House Committee on Health.
Agunbiade spoke in commemoration of the 7th Anniversary of adopting Yoruba language for deliberations every Thursday in the Assembly which commenced on Feb. 5, 2009.
He said, “This House calls on Governor Akinwunmi Ambode to direct Commissioner for Education to take a quick step to ensure that syllabus in public and private schools in the state make the teaching and learning of Yoruba language compulsory.
“That we should convey a Stakeholders’ Summit to look at the challenges in teaching Yoruba in schools as well as to ensure that Yoruba Language is taught at least three times in a week both in private and public schools.”
According to him, it has become necessary to call a meeting of Tutor General, PTA and all other stakeholders in education sector to know the problems.
“Most schools today do not speak Yoruba Language again and other indigenous languages. In fact, many parents frown at their children whenever they speak Yoruba.
“We should ensure that Yoruba Language does not go into extinction. Other people embrace their language, we should also be proud of ours.
“We should meet with all heads of Education Districts, if teachers are not enough, we should employ more. We don’t have any justification for not teaching and embracing our language,” he said.
Hon. Lanre Ogunyemi, Chairman, House Committee on Education said the responsibility was on the government and parents to ensure that Yoruba language did not go into extinction.
He said, “It’s a must that we bequeath the language to our children. The National Policy on Education and our constitution mandate the teaching and learning of our indigenous languages.
“We need to call on all in charge of education to make teaching of the language compulsory in Lagos. Indigenous Languages will promote love and unity,” he said.
According to him, Feb. 21 is the International Mother Language Day as declared by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).
Mr Segun Olulade, the Chairman, House Committee on Health also called for the promotion of Yoruba language, culture and tradition.
Hon. Adefunmilayo Tejuosho (Mushin I) said, “We have thrown away our language, there is nothing to be ashamed of in speaking our language. She decried the habit of punishing or making students pay fine for speaking Yoruba language in schools.
The Speaker, Hon. Mudashiru Obasa said, “it is not our making that we were born here, others speaking their indigenous languages are progressing in other climes.
“We need to encourage our language, and be proud of it. Using our indigenous language to teach our children yields better results as posited by late Bola Ige and Prof. Wole Soyinka.
“We will call for a stakeholders’ summit on this motion to promote teaching and learning of Yoruba in schools as most private schools do not embrace it again,” Obasa said.
If the pupils of Ago Owu Primary School on Market Lane, Shogunle, a Lagos suburb, are to make a list of their favourite morning duties, it is most unlikely that packing human faeces would be one of them. That, however, is a duty they have had to perform on a daily basis. As a matter of fact, they do not start lessons until the authorities are sure that they have packed all the faeces generated by hoodlums who have turned the school into their colony.
The hoodlums either defecate directly on the floor of the classrooms or wrap their faeces in nylons and drop them in the pupils’ lockers, making the environment messy and unhygienic for learning. Hence, every day, the pupils have to endure ridding the classrooms of feaces, sachets of local herbal gin, used condoms and sundry items the hoodlums abandon in their classrooms.
Since they forced their ways into the premises of the affected schools more than a decade ago, the hoodlums have refused to vacate them in spite of periodic raids carried out by the police. Apart from defecating in the classrooms, they have also vandalised them as well as the store, toilets, fence and furniture, among other items.
The environment, both outside and inside the school was a repulsive sight when our correspondent visited on January 12, 2016.
Opposite the school gate, a shack houses auto mechanics and a block industry while a heap of firewood lay close to its derelict gate. On the left fringe of the school’s entrance lay a hole in the perimeter fence, which offers more than a glimpse of what the school compound looks like from the outside. The scene bears tell tale signs of abandonment, unhygienic learning environment and decrepit state of infrastructure in the school established on October 3, 1980.
Inside the school premises, foul odour oozed out of a block of classrooms close to the left wing of the perimeter fence. Right inside the decrepit classrooms, disused nylons, plastic bottles and human faeces and other unseemly items competed for space. The classrooms, built in 2009 by the immediate past administration of Governor Babatunde Fashola, have become deplorable in the wake of its vandalisation by hoodlums.
There were gaping holes in the roofs of the vandalised classrooms. Many of the furniture, including the desks and tables belonging to students and teachers, are not spared by the hoodlums, a situation that leaves the pupils with inadequate furniture for sitting or writing.
The roofs of some of the classrooms were said to have been brought down by hoodlums during a fight recently.
It was gathered that once the 35-year-old school, which shares the same compound with Folaranmi Primary School, closes at 2 pm, the hoodlums take over its premises,. They defecate in the classrooms and other places they choose and also hide their belongings, including clothes, shoes, marijuana and weapons, there.
“Hoodlums have virtually turned learning here into a nightmare for the teachers and pupils, and the police have not been able to dislodge them,” lamented a source in the school, who pleaded not to be named.
Learning with tears
Most times, the pupils have to shut their windows to avoid inhaling the offensive odour from some of the abandoned classrooms littered with human faeces. Besides, the hoodlums, it was gathered, usually barge into the classrooms while lessons were on to remove some of the items they had hidden there, while the panicky pupils and their teachers look helpless. The water and toilet facility, as well as the school’s library, have also been vandalised.
A female teacher, who did not want her name in print for fear of retribution, said: ”The school is everything a good school should not be. The hoodlums have been using the school as home for many years now. They destroyed many things here until former Governor Raji Fashola built new classrooms and provided water and new furniture in 2009.
The source added: “The hoodlums usually loiter around the premises waiting for us to depart after school hours. And because we are now using hard padlocks to shut the toilets, they would defecate, wrap their faeces in nylons and drop them inside the desks. In the morning, the unsuspecting pupils would dip their hands in the faeces kept in their desks.
“Whenever they could not find tissue paper to clean up after defecating, they would tear the foam of the cushion chairs for that purpose. The hoodlums enter the premises of the school through the broken fence and sometimes jump in through the wall separating the school from a market.”
Pupils in one of the classrooms with the vandalised ceiling in Community Primary School, Ewu Tuntun
Some pupils, who shared their pathetic story with our correspondent, confirmed that hoodlums constitute nuisance to the school.
A primary four pupil, who identified himself simply as Olumide, said: “Some people come to defecate in our classrooms and drop faeces there every day. They hide faeces in our desks and under the chairs. We usually pack the rubbish every morning before starting our lesson, but they won’t cease from coming to do their rubbish here.”
One of the class teachers, who spoke in confidence, confirmed that the hoodlums usually wrap the faeces inside polythene bags and drop them on the floor or inside the desks.
He said: “They wrap the faeces and drop them inside the desks and at times excrete on the floor of the classrooms. The pupils are made to clear the faeces before the commencement of lesson every day.
“They’ll break into some of the offices and vandalise books and furniture. They also hide marijuana in the ceilings of the classrooms. The police have not been able to apprehend the hoodlums because wrong persons are usually arrested whenever the police raid this area.”
Our correspondent observed that some of the vandalised classrooms have been abandoned, while others with windows cannot be shut because they have been broken by the vagabonds.
Another source, who asked not to be named, said: “To stave off further intrusion, some of the doors to the classrooms were fortified with iron and burglar proofs, but the hoodlums would still destroy the windows through which they gain access to the classrooms. They would bathe, wash their clothes and spread them on the furniture within and outside the buildings. Only recently, they (hoodlums) broke into the office of the head teacher and looted it.”
Bad influence
The school’s buildings provide a shade for the hoodlums to sell illicit items such as marijuana and other stimulants. It was learnt that marijuana is usually hidden in the ceilings of the classrooms. It was learnt that the hoodlums and their customers usually converged on the school premises at 4 pm to transact business (sale of hard drugs) and would revel in it till late in the night.
A female teacher, who did not want her name in print, confided in our correspondent that the hoodlums were able to influence one of the pupils a few years ago by asking the innocent boy to watch over marijuana and weapons hidden in the ceilings of his classroom. It was learnt that the boy in question has since taken to hard drugs and now works as bus conductor.
She said: “There was a primary four pupil whose parents live in the neighbourhood. The boy was the one serving as courier for the hoodlums by helping them to hide and bring out hard drugs hidden in the classrooms.
“The boy was caught and reported to his parents, who tried in vain to rein their son. At a point, the boy’s mother told us that she was helpless as her son had become recalcitrant.
“I taught the boy when he was in primary four. But it is sad that today he smokes marijuana and works as a bus conductor in Oshodi (Lagos). I have sighted him several times at the Oshodi Motor Park, and I was not happy on each occasion.”
The school’s head teacher, Mrs. Vivour Ayobola, declined comment when our correspondent approached her. She said she had no authority to talk to journalists as a civil servant.
She said: “As a civil servant, I am not permitted by civil service rule to speak on a matter like this.”
Ayobola and some non-teaching members of the school’s staff prevented our correspondent from taking photographs of the vandalised buildings. A few of the photographs used here had been taken before the head teacher was approached for comment.
An official of the Oshodi/Isolo Local Education Authority, who craved anonymity, said the presence of the hoodlums poses a great danger to the pupils and teachers in the school. He said he had personally carried out a raid on the school a few years ago during which he seized heaps of marijuana from the hoodlums.
The official added: “There is need to remove the hoodlums from the school because their continued siege to the school portends danger for pupils and teachers.
“The hoodlums have laid siege to the school for more than 10 years now. I once routed the hoodlums from the school during an afternoon raid a few years ago and seized several trays of marijuana from them. The marijuana confiscated was handed over to a nearby police division, but the hoodlums returned to terrify pupils and teachers.”
A resident, Mrs. Omolayo Adejumo, said fears that the pupils could be molested or influenced by hoodlums had made many parents in the area not to enroll their children in the school. She said: “Let me be honest with you, many of the parents in the neighbourhood don’t like enrolling their children in the school because the hoodlums are usually seen loitering around the premises even during school hours.
“The hoodlums smoke marijuana and take alcohol in the school premises and teachers cannot challenge them for fear of being beaten up. In that kind of situation, do you think it is advisable to enroll one’s children there? The environment is not just conducive for learning.”
The ugly spectacles at Ago Owu Primary School also applies at Mafoluku school complex, also in Oshodi/Isolo Local Government Area, where learning and teaching have become nightmares for pupils and teachers. The school complex, which accommodates Community Primary School, Ewu Tuntun; State Primary School, Ewu Tuntun and Mafoluku Primary School bleeds from the activities of hoodlums who have made the schools a haven.
A visitor to the school is confronted by dilapidated buildings, broken fence and refuse that litter the premises.
At the point of entry from Bode Onifade Street, where the schools are located, stands a dilapidated classroom block. The block, which accommodates primary one and two pupils of Mafoluku Primary School, is a sorry sight unfit for learning. The roofs are shattered and the ceilings are broken. The windows can no longer be closed, having been allegedly destroyed by hoodlums.
It was learnt that the roofs were broken in an attempt by the hoodlums to gain access after the doors to the classrooms were locked. At the moment, gaping holes are everywhere in the classrooms.
On the left fringe of the complex, a decrepit classroom block belonging to Community Primary School, stares a visitor in the face. The building was said to have been abandoned after it was also vandalised by the hoodlums.
A new building constructed by the school- based management committee of Oshodi/Isolo Local Government is far from giving succour to the distraught pupils. The new building sited at the back of the vandalised classrooms is without ceiling to insulate the classrooms from the heat produced by scorching sun. The male pupils usually pull off their shirts when the heat descends, while the female ones run outside in search of air.
“The building was provided by the school-based management committee after the other classroom block was vandalised. The committee decided to build a new classroom block to alleviate the suffering of teachers and students, but there is no ceiling in the classrooms, hence, pupils run outside to escape heat whenever the sun is at its peak.” said a teacher in the school who declined identity.
Like their counterparts in Ago Owu Primary School, the vagabonds also defecate and drop faeces inside the pupils’ lockers in the three schools.
A number of the classrooms are left with gaping holes in their roofs and ceilings after they were allegedly destroyed by hoodlums.
As a result, the floors of the classrooms are usually water-logged whenever it rains while pupils scamper for safety in the corners of their classrooms. The floors of the affected classrooms have been destroyed without any hope of repair in sight.
The toilets and water facilities in the schools are not spared. The hoodlums have broken the sewage pipes connected to the toilet, causing faeces to spill from the bust pipes at the back of the toilet.
A classroom block at State Primary School is also vandalised by hoodlums. The roof of the block overlooking a staff room has been destroyed, exposing the pupils to environmental hazards.
Before the Yuletide break in December last year, the hoodlums were said to have destroyed a borehole machine and pipes that carried water to a surface tank that serves the three schools. It was gathered that the borehole was fixed a few days ago by the head teachers of the three schools.
A source within the schools told our correspondent that “the hoodlums have been recalcitrant to the extent that they are not deterred by constant raids carried out by the police.”
In yet another instance of madness, one of the hoodlums was said to have robbed a female teacher during school hours. It was gathered that the teacher was teaching in front of the class when a hoodlum removed the bag she placed on a seat and ran away. A non-teaching member of staff, who craved anonymity, recalled the incident, saying: “It was like a scene from the movies about six months ago when a female teacher was dispossessed of her bag containing money and other valuables. The teacher moved to the entrance of the class to attend to a pupil when a young man barged into the classroom through the window and stole the bag.
“All the efforts made to apprehend him were in vain. Some of the mechanics nearby, however, succeeded in apprehending the hoodlum a few days later but the money and phones kept in the bag had been removed.”
Our correspondent observed that several parts of the school’s fence had collapsed. Sources within the school said the collapsed walls were caused by the hoodlums who wanted to have easy access into the premises.
A woman, who identified herself as the head teacher of one of the schools, accosted our correspondent and warned him to leave the premises, saying: “Journalists are not permitted to take photographs or report anything about the school.” The woman and two members of the non-teaching staff of the school led our correspondent out of the school complex and warned him never to return.
Witnessing a convergence
The day was just winding up when our correspondent arrived at Market Lane, Shogunle penultimate Tuesday to witness the convergence of hoodlums on Ago Owu Primary School. To stave off suspicion, he made friends with two male workers of a block making company in front of the school. One of the workers introduced our correspondent as his ‘very good friend’ to a stoutly built owner of a nearby mechanic workshop who offered him a stool to sit under the shed that served as the workshop.
By 4.30 pm, the hoodlums started arriving in trickles. One of them called ‘Ciro’, led two others into the school premises through a large hole on the school fence and headed straight to an abandoned toilet near the fence. Ciro, a stocky youth of average height who wore a yellow short sleeved shirt on a pair of blue jeans, dropped a black nylon bag inside the toilet and changed into a brown T-shirt. About 20 minutes later, he emerged from the decrepit building with a small brown bag hanging across his body.
“Wa gb’oja sinu tray (spread the marijuana in a tray),” Ciro yelled at one of his aides in a guttural voice before leading them into one of the two classroom blocks where they spent about 40 minutes. At exactly 5.35 pm, eight other hoodlums entered and exchanged banter with Ciro and his aides before settling down for a marijuana smoking and drinking spree right at the centre of the compound.
Others soon joined and a cacophony erupted from the excited hoodlums. Some of the names they bear include ‘Shakur’; Tiri’; Agaba; Gbade; Timo and Elele.
Desks and tables removed from the classrooms were brought into the open space with marijuana and herbal drinks placed on them as money changed hands between Ciro’s aides and their customers.
As the smoking and boozing session continued, some other hoodlums dashed in and out of the compound, while others went into the classrooms for unknown reasons. A few others stood near the locked school gate smoking marijuana and consuming sachets of local herbal gin.
By 7.15 pm when our correspondent left the place, more and more hoodlums were still trooping into the school.
On Wednesday January 20, 20916, our correspondent visited Mafoluku Primary School, State Primary School, Ewu Tuntun and Community Primary School, Ewu Tuntun , which all share the same compound on Bode Onifade Street, Mafoluku, Oshodi. By the time he arrived the school at 5.30 pm, a horde of hoodlums had gathered there, smoking marijuana and consuming liquor. They were seen jumping from one classroom to another with different brands of herbal gins in their hands.
The Nation’s correspondent, who pretended that he needed some marijuana, was introduced by a youth in the area to another tall, light-complexioned youth called ‘Onile’, who brought out wraps of marijuana from a black nylon bag for a fee.
Iso, Tebati, Ogbos and Iskilu are some of the names the hoodlums addressed themselves with.
The hoodlums, who included young girls, were about 40 in number, and they moved from one end of the expansive school complex to another. A fight later ensued between two of the hoodlums over an undisclosed amount of money collected from a local musician during a street party held in the area a few days earlier. The resultant physical combat was later settled when ‘Onile’ asked the warring parties to leave the premises or risk being embarrassed.
Onile said: “E maa ba business je funmi o. Tee ba le maintain, e kuro nibi or else maa jeju yin (don’t spoil my business for me. Move out of this place, if you cannot behave yourselves or I embarrass you).”
As at 8.15 pm when our correspondent left the area, misguided youths were still trooping in and out of the school complex, fouling the air with smoke from marijuana.
A resident, Mrs Peace Ibezim, said the hoodlums were in the habit of causing panic in the community as they often engage in free for all.
She said: “We live in fear in this community as a result of the presence of hoodlums. They would converge on the school complex in hundreds to smoke marijuana, drink alcohol and even rape girls.
“Most times they engage in free for all and take their fights to the streets, causing panicky residents to scamper into safety. They use some of the dangerous weapons which they keep inside the school complex whenever they confront one another.”
Experts have urged the state government to take immediate action towards curbing the conversion of school premises into dens of hoodlums with the attendant destruction of educational facilities and buildings.
A retired school principal, Mr Edwin Kolapo, urged the authorities to engage community leaders in a bid to keep the hoodlums at bay. Kolapo said: “There is no way hoodlums who have occupied a school complex for a very long time can easily be dislodged. My advice to the Local Government Education Authority and the state Ministry of Education is to include community leaders in their plan.
“Most of these boys are known to landlords in the community and they can easily be tracked down and prevented from escaping before the arrival of security agents, with the assistance of the community leaders.”
A community leader in Mafoluku area of Oshodi, Elder James Adedoyin, said there was need for the state government to provide adequate security for schools.
Describing the development as unfortunate during a telephone conversation, the Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Education, Mrs Olabisi Ariyo, said government was already addressing the matter.
“The problem with education development in the state is that people are not helping government at all. Otherwise, I don’t see any reason why hoodlums should jump into public schools. In some schools, they broke down the fence and it is sad that people are destroying facilities put in place with tax payers’ money. That is why we have decided to stop the use of public schools to host social functions or parties to prevent hoodlums from gaining access.”
She said the state government would engage security agencies to assist in protecting public schools from vandals.
“We are also embarking on massive fencing of our schools and discussing with relevant security agencies to have the schools secured. Only recently, we carried out a raid on some schools in some parts of Lagos with the help of the police and we succeeded in chasing out hoodlums out of the affected schools. At the moment, men of the Neighbourhood Watch are being deployed to ensure protection of schools and facilities.”
Efforts made by our correspondent to reach the spokesman of the Lagos State Police Command, Mrs. Dolapo Badmos, on her mobile phone yielded no result. She also had not responded to a text message forwarded to her mobile phone at press time.
TWO retiring teachers in Lagos State have urged the government to employed professional teachers to fill theh vacant positions in the teaching service.
Mrs Odunewu and her colleague Mrs Dorothy Okoyeocha, who teach at the Amuwo Odofin Local Government Nursery and Primary School, Festac, spoke ahead of their retirement.
The teachers, who converted their statutory three-month leave ahead of their retirement, said they had to convert their leave into working leave to fill the gap in the system.
“For instance in my school, we have five professional teachers as we had to use non-teaching staff to support too,” Mrs Odunewu said, adding: “Out of the five, two of us are retiring. Owing to lack of teachers, my partner and I turned our leave to working leave up till date because of the interest we have for the school.”
Due to this development, Odunayo, who with Okoyeocha, held their ‘Pencil Up’, a symbolic event usually held by retiring teachers after 35 years’ of meritorious service, is seeking from various governments recruitment of more professional teachers to enhance quality education delivery in Nigeria.
Mrs Odunayo, who was retiring as the chief assistant director in the Lagos State Ministry of Education, described the Education Sector Support Programme in Nigeria (ESSPIN) a United Kingdom- an education initiative programme- as commendable, noting that a further boost in the supply of professional hands could make ESSPIN achieve more successes.
She admonished the Lagos State Governor Mr Akinwunmi Ambode to flood Lagos schools with qualified teachers, a promise he made during his governorship elections campaign.
Although her sojourn as a teacher has been blissful, Odunewu recalled that her major challenge was her inability to give her best to her kids, especially when their attention was most needed.
“Though there were many challenges, my kids come into view as when they were growing. I was not always there for them because I was trying to increase my knowledge but I thank God for helping me to cope.”
Expressing her gratitude to God on her retirement, she said: ‘I give glory to God because much water has passed under the bridge. It is not by my making but by the grace of God that brought me to this day as I started this job in July 1980 at Badagry local government,” Odunewu recalled.
According to her, she started on Level 4 as an educated teacher, and rose through the ranks to Level 16, the apex of her career and retiring as a Chief Assistant Director of Education.
She thanked her colleagues for their cooperation despite that she is not from Lagos.
Recalling some of her experiences, Odunewu cited her days as a sport teacher, noting that hard work and dedication earned her laurels.
“As a sport teacher, I paid close attention to the organisation of sporting activities such that my pupils won laurels in several of the competitions they participated in,” she added.
She advised pupils to continue to be good ambassadors of the school and to always depend on their ability to do well.
Chairman of the occasion, Prince Julius Adegboye, who felicitated with the celebrant, was happy that one of his children also an alumnus of the school, is a manager at one of the notable banks in the country.
Adegboye, a former chairman of the school’s Parent Forum, noted that his interest is still in the school because of his son’s success as an old student.
He said,: “I don’t need to give the retiring teachers any advice anymore; in fact they are already out of the system. It is those that are coming behind them that I will advise to be patient and tolerant because the pupils they are controlling are toddlers unlike pupils in secondary schools.”
“I rate teachers in primary schools than those in secondary schools because primary school pupils still need a lot of tolerance and so the teachers need to treat them like their own children,” he added.
Mrs Okoyeocha expressed her gratitude to God for preserving her during her 35 years’ sojourn in the taeching service.
The recent reorganisation of the Lagos State Ministry of Education that birthed the Office of Education Quality Assurance (QA) has been greeted with enthusiasm by stakeholders.
The director-general of the newly-created office, Mrs Ronke Soyombo, met with about 40 participants selected from the unions, professional associations, school owners’ associations and QA officers at the Education Resource Centre, Ojodu, Lagos, last Monday to brainstorm on the instrument to be used for evaluating schools.
Mrs Soyombo said the sensitization workshop was oganised so stakeholders could contribute to the evaluation schedule for schools will know what would be assessed in the areas of leadership and management, achievement and standards, behaviour and safety, as well as teaching and learning.
“By the time we start publishing the instrument, it is not a resource that we have prepared on our own. And we followed the Federal Government instrument, because it is the Federal Government that has done for all education schools. But what we have done is to review and revamp it to suit the needs of Lagos State, and that is what we have called stakeholders,” she said.
Mrs Soyombo added that schools would be graded after the assessment, which would help categorise them.
“If it is properly done in different schools, if a school has come out as outstanding, we would be able to actually give you outstanding award. So, we are going to be grading schools. That is another development that is coming to education. It is going to be wow because our vision is to strive for excellence; to make all schools in Lagos State to actually be excellent schools,” she said.
Many of the participants are also optimistic about the new initiative.
Mrs Omotunde Olayinka Lawson, President, All Nigerian Confederation of Principals of Secondary Schools (ANCOPSS), Lagos, said it would ultimately improve schools
“Nothing could have been better than this. I see it as a way of better improving the quality and the standard of teaching and learning process in the schools for better and greater outcomes; for greater efficiency on the part of the school managers and teachers; for improvement on the attitude and behaviour of students; to engage services of all stakeholders; so at the end of the day, you have improved performance both for teachers, heads of schools; and the students,” she said.
Mrs Mosun Owo-Odunsi, Proprietress of Amville School, Ilupeju, said it should soon become the national standard.
“Definitely, it can work; and it should work. It is the only way forward for the nation. And since it is starting up in Lagos State, I am sure other states will latch on to this,” she said.
Mrs Oyindamola Shomola, who represented Soms Creative and Educational consultancy and Christ Redeemers Schools movement, the umbrella body of schools owned by the Redeemed Christian Church of God, said the instrument would teach many administrators about how to run schools.
She said: “We have a lot of educationists, a lot of schools that have no clue concerning the major practice of quality assurance. So I believe that what has been done here, bringing in stakeholders to have an input and to even have more understanding about what it means, for example, leadership and management, I feel that for those who have come today would know that it goes beyond just seeing the one in authority, sitting in the office. It is more about sharing ideas, delegating authority and backing it up and delegating responsibilities. Also about standards, a lot has been learnt.”
With the inauguration of 10 additional MultiChoice Resource Centre (MRC) project in Lagos, leading cable television network MultiChoice Nigeria, has added more feathers to its cap.
The event, which took at Eti-Osa Community Senior Secondary School, Sangotedo, Lagos, on Tuesday last week, is one of the state public/private partnership initiative.
This MRC project returned to Lagos State for the third time since inception in 2004, to inaugurate 10 additional centres, bringing to 18 the total number of MRC in the state.
Each beneficiary school receives a TV set, high definition personal video recorder (HDPVR) decoder, generating set, complimentary subscription to DStv education bouquet, which contains BBC World, BBC Knowledge, National Geography, Animal Planet, National Geography Wild, History Channel, Learn and ED channel, as well as facilities such as chairs and tables, among others.
“The resource centre project is MultiChoice’s way of promoting the use of integrated and communication technologies to raise the standard of education by deploying the imagery of sight and sound to make learning more vivid and creative,” said Managing Director, MultiChoice Nigeria, Mr John Ugbe, at the commemoration ceremony.
“At MultiChoice, we have a strong conviction that the technological, economic, social and political advancement of any country has a direct correlation with its level of educational development and that the future of a country is intrinsically tied to the quality of education that the youths are exposed to,” he added.
He however enjoined the 10 beneficiary schools to maximise the use of the resource centres.
Mrs Aderonke Bello, Managing Director, Innovative Technology Literacy Services Limited (ITLS), the implementing partner for the MRC project, said the facilities being provided will also equip both teachers and learners for them to be competitive in the 24th century market place, adding that the effective use of this service would add significance to pupils and teachers at large.
She said: “Technology investment in schools is on the increase, and the deployment of satellite television to enhance learning is one key initiative that has helped to bridge the digital divide in rural communities. While technology will not replace teachers and textbooks, research has shown that technology-mediated learning environments provide immense opportunities for learners and lead inevitably to better teaching and learning outcomes.”
Director, Co-Curriculum, Science & Technology, Lagos State Ministry of Education, Mrs Mary Oyetunde, thanked MultiChoice for the initiative, describing it as complementary to the state’s effort to providing improved facilities for enhanced teaching and learning.
“MultiChoice Resource Centre project facilitates e-learning, as our pupils can now utilise the satellite TV technology to obtain relevant facts and latest development in subject areas that have hitherto proved difficult to understand,” she said.
