According to a Kaduna police statement, the Principal and Vice Principal of Al-Azhar School in Zaria, Kaduna State, have been arrested for their alleged involvement in corporal punishment that resulted in the death of Marwanu Nuhu Sambo, a JSS3 student at the school, on Friday, October 21.
Sambo was allegedly brutally beaten by Al-Azhar Academy’s Principal, Vice Principal, and prefects for being absent from school.
When asked to confirm the school’s management’s statement that those involved in the heinous incident had been arrested, PPRO ASP Mansir Hassan of the Police Command said:
“Police is fully aware of the incident and we are in control of the situation. Two suspects have been arrested in connection to the development. The CP has directed a full-scale investigation on the matter and we will get to its root cause.”
According to reports, Sambo was paraded at the Assembly for missing classes. He was subjected to harsh punishments, including over a hundred cane strokes.
“At the assembly, the Principal ordered that Marwanu should be given 105 strokes of cane. Thereafter, they took him to the office, removed his clothes and trousers and continued beating him with sticks on the head and back and his body.
“The Principal later handed him over to the school prefects who continued beating him with sticks until one of his teeth fell off. It was at that point that the deceased went into a coma. But instead of rushing him to the hospital, the prefects brought him out and dumped his body in the school premises near the male toilets until the closing time.
“Cries from other students in the school who watched in trepidation reportedly attracted other teachers who rushed to the scene where they found out that the boy had given up the ghost,” a source said.
However, the school administration explained in a statement that the punishment was not part of its policy and that the officers who imposed “the irresponsible punishment did it without consultation.”
“It is deeply saddened by the incident that led to the death of its student and prays almighty Allah to forgive the shortcoming of the deceased, grant him Jannat elfirdous as his final abode and give his family the fortitude to bear the irreplaceable loss. Furthermore, the officers who committed this act were suspended from the school forthwith and handed over to the Nigerian Police Force for investigation and further action. Finally, the School is closed for academic activities till further notice.”
