Ilugun High School Tragedy: Principal Implicated in Illegal Fees, Govt. Suspend Principals

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The recent incident at Ilugun High School (Junior), Elega, has led to the suspension of both the Junior and Senior Principals of the school.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the young man who lost his life was not a bona fide student of the school, with evidence pointing to illegal enrollment.

The Ogun State Government shed light on the recent incident at Ilugun High School (Junior), Elega, where a young man lost his life during a press conference held on Tuesday at the State Secretariat, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta.

The Honourable Commissioner for Education, Science, and Technology, Hon. Abayomi Arigbabu while addressing Journalists, emphasised that the preliminary investigation revealed that the deceased was not a bona fide student of the school.

The deceased was found to have been using three different names – Babalola Ayornide, Salako Jimoh, and Afolabi Babalola – none of which appear in the state’s education database, OGSERA.

Arigbabu stated that this suggests the individual may have been illegally enrolled in the school.

He therefore put Principals of both the Junior and Senior sections of Ilugun High School on suspension pending a thorough investigation into the incident.

Arigbabu assured the public that anyone found culpable in this matter will face the full weight of the law, adding that a whistle-blower scheme has also been established through the Teaching Service Commission to monitor and control illegal activities in schools.

The Commissioner appealed to students not to vent their anger by destroying school property, emphasising the need to preserve the limited infrastructure available in schools.

According to him ” Our preliminary investigations have revealed a very disturbing twist. The young man who lost his life could not be confirmed as a bona fide student of the school. He was identified by three different names – Babalola Ayornide, Salako Jimoh, and Afolabi Babalola. Yet, none of these names appear in our official state education database, the OGSERA platform, which authenticates all school enrolments. This points to the likelihood of an illegal enrolment”

“In addition, we also discovered that the Principal of Ilugun High School (Junior) had been involved in the collection of illegal fees. In light of these findings, the government has decided to place both the Junior and Senior Principals of Ilugun High School on suspension while we conduct a thorough investigation into the immediate and remote causes of this unfortunate incident”.

“Let me assure the good people of Ogun State that the administration of His Excellency, Prince Dapo Abiodun, CON remains unshaken in its commitment to provide free education for every school-age child in this State, irrespective of where they live, their gender, economic status, religious belief, or political affiliation”

“I must also appeal to the students: while we share in your grief, please do not vent your anger by destroying school property. We all know that we are still battling with inadequate infrastructure in our schools. Destroying the little we have will only make the situation worse, not better”.