According to PREMIUM TIMES, the Deeper Life High School in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, organized a football match on Friday in honor of a student who was allegedly s*xually abused by some senior students of the school in 2020.
The football match was scheduled after the school administration and the boy’s parents agreed to an out-of-court settlement following advice from a State High Court judge hearing the case.
At the time of the incident, the victim was 11 years old and in the junior class.
His mother, Deborah Okezie, said some senior students of the school took advantage of the boy when the school authorities switched him from his dormitory to another dormitory filled with senior students.
“They will remove his boxer and push their legs and hands into his anus,” Mrs Okezie said in a video which had gone viral on Facebook and Twitter.
Five officials of the Deeper Life School, including the suspended principal of the school, were arraigned over the incident.
Two SS1 students, who were 13 at the time, were also arraigned.
All of them pleaded not guilty.
The victim’s mother, Mrs Okezie, streamed the football live on Facebook from the Deeper Life School premises in Uyo.
“In life, you fight to correct things,” the woman said in the live video, apparently justifying the protracted battle she fought against the school and why she accepted a peace move from the school authorities.
She said she was happy about the restoration of peace between her family and the school. She said she was happier that her son was alive.
“Some people’s children went to school and never came back,” she said. “My son is alive.”
The Deeper Life High School is owned by a Pentecostal church, The Deeper Christian Life Ministry.
The school trended on Twitter for days over the case, with several Nigerians calling on William Kumuyi, a pastor and founder of The Deeper Christian Life Ministry, to ensure that the victim gets justice.
The victim’s mother, Mrs Okezie, while streaming the football match, said: “As soon as the matter reached Kumuyi, a lot changed.” – Apparently, she meant the pastor brought about the peace between her family and the school.
“Daddy Kumuyi is hosting his grandchild (the s*x abuse victim),” she said of the football match. “It’s a big ceremony. My son is so blessed.”
The victim, dressed in a black jacket, was seen stepping out of the car on live video.
He was greeted by school officials before changing into a jersey to play the game with other students, including the two accused of s*xually molesting him.
In the coming days, school officials and the boy’s parents are expected to brief the court on how far they have progressed in their peace efforts.