The school, Great Leaders International School, runs preschool, pre-kindergarten, kindergarten, primary and junior secondary programmes.
The suspect has been identified as Innocent Onwuegbule. He is also the principal of the junior secondary section of the school.
A human rights activist, Harrison Gwamnishu, in a post on his Facebook page on Wednesday, said the suspect had been arrested by the police and detained at Agbor Police Area Command in the state.
How it happened
“Then, as she (the girl) reach house, the girl dey urinate blood. Her mama come check am and see say her small pikin private part don become something else,” he narrated in Pidgin English.
The activist said the incident happened on 4 October at Agbor, a community in Ika South Local Government Area of the state.
He uploaded a video clip on the Facebook page which showed the victim’s mother corroborating his claim.
In the clip seen by PREMIUM TIMES, a woman, who introduced herself as the victim’s mother without mentioning her name, said she was being pressured to settle the matter with the suspect.
“But I need justice because the way the matter take be now, dem dey look me like say I no get money (and) there is nobody to talk for me.
“So, that’s why they are doing all those things,” she said in a mixture of Pidgin and English languages, apparently referring to the school authorities.
Her face was blurred in the clip to protect her identity.
In the clip, Mr Gwamnishu, the activist was heard interacting with the victim whose face was completely hidden.
The victim was heard saying that the principal “cut me with scissors” while both of them were inside the toilet.
The activist called on the police and the Ministry of Education in the state to intervene in the matter.
Police react
Mr Edafe, a deputy superintendent of police, said the Agbor area commander told him on the telephone that the incident happened two weeks ago.
The police spokesperson added that the case was being handled by the area command. He assured that justice would prevail.
“However, we should avoid settlement because these days parents especially from rural areas go behind the police and collect money from suspects, thereby making prosecution difficult,” he said in the post.
The commissioner of police (in Delta State) has directed the area commander to charge this case to court. They are presently in court as we speak,” Mr Edafe said in another post on the microblogging platform, minutes later.
Some video clips circulating on social media indicate that the suspect was arraigned on Thursday morning.
Prohibited in Nigeria
Offenders, on conviction, face life imprisonment or a maximum of 14-year jail term, depending on the age of the offender and the type of violence committed.
Several persons have been convicted by various courts of rape.
An Ado-Ekiti High Court, in July 2022, sentenced a 49-year-old man, Dele Adeyanju, to four years imprisonment for raping an 11-year-old girl.
A Bauchi High Court, in 2017, sentenced two middle-aged men to life in prison for raping a 40-year-old woman and plucking her eyes.
