The Lagos State Government has urged calm after false news of a bandit attack in a high school complex in Ojokoro sent the community into panic leading to parents rushing to the school premises to secure their wards.
 The Lagos State Education District 1, which oversees 99 public junior and senior secondary schools across the Agege, Alimosho, and Ifako-Ijaiye zones assured that there was no banditry nor kidnapping and that the incident occurred as a result of mis-communication and an already volatile atmosphere in society.

 The panic was as a result of an educative effort gone wrong. The Ijaiye Ojokoro Junior College, one of four schools in the Ojokoro school complex held its weekly co-recreational exercise where practical examples are usually utilised to ensure effective impartation of knowledge.
 The supervising teaching staff made an over-realistic dramatisation of the theme for the day in attempt to conduct a practical demonstration to educate his students on kidnapping and banditry.
 The Guardian noted, during a visit to the school premises within the hour of the incident, that while the particular school where the recreational exercise held is used to certain practical approaches to teaching, the nature of the schooling environment posed a challenge to their effort at distinct approach to teaching in the current clime.

 The Ojokoro community school complex houses four educational institutions within the big compound where each school is allocated limited space and the various blocks are separated by only few meters in a borderless arrangement; consequently, there are no fences between close proximities.
 The schools within are: Ijaiye Ojokoro Senior High School, Ijaiye Ojokoro Junior High School, Ijaiye Ojokoro Senior College and Ijaiye Ojokoro Junior College, all with different uniforms.
 The dramatisation included the use of a truck which swept in and mimicked the use of paramilitary ordinance with relevant bandit gear and mannerisms. What ensued was panic amid an already volatile society, a school complex of different schools without boundaries and a sensitive educational landscape.

 The Guardian noted some parents hyperventilating while inquiring about their children who had only left home within the hour the news broke out. Residents within the enviros, including the Lagos State Development and Property Corporation (LSDPC) Estate, Ojokoro, received the news with the shock that followed the rush of children who ran through the estate, further spreading confusing versions of an alleged bandit invasion into the vast school premises.
 The news quickly spread across the community, especially the estate whose over 170 blocks of flats are connected via a Whatsapp community and other forms of interconnectedness.
 According to the Residents Association of the LSDPC Estate close to the school complex, while the educative roleplay was aimed at stimulating realism, the effort was ill-timed and a mismatched initiative, given the current security climate in the country.

 “Furthermore, the teacher failed to inform the school authority, other staff, or the rest of the student body about his proposed drama, which included the use of realistic special effects.
 “This lack of communication resulted in severe panic within the school. In the ensuing rush to escape what they believed to be a real threat, a large number of students fled into our estate, causing the rowdiness and alarm many witnessed,” the Association stated in its address to residents on its Whatsapp platform.
 “We want to assure all residents that there was no actual security breach, kidnapping, or bandit attacks within or around our estate. The police were immediately contacted and are fully involved. The teacher responsible for the false alarm has been taken to the police station for questioning. The situation has been completely brought under control”.

 When The Guardian visited the Police Station (aka Ebenezer Police Station) where the teacher was taken, our correspondent sighted the teaching staff seated behind the counter. The Police, after receiving our correspondent in the office of the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), courteously turned down inquiry about the situation, referring our correspondent to the Police Force Public Relations Officer (PPRO).
 Earlier, the Vice Principal of the Ijaiye Ojokoro Junior College could not afford a response to questions asked of her. Also, the Principal was said to have left for the Lagos Education District 1 office overseeing the school located at the Dairy Farm area in Agege.
 The Guardian proceeded to the Education District 1 office, and met with Dr. Olufunke Idowu Oyetola, Tutor General/Permanent Secretary (TG/PS), who explained the part of the educational body in its response to the incident.

 Dr. Oyetola’s explanation filled in gaps earlier in question, including the absence of the principal of the school, how quickly order was restored within the hour of panic by both parents and teachers and how despite the initial chaos, students of both the Ijaiye Ojokoro Senior College and Ijaiye Ojokoro Senior High School were still able to proceed with their WAEC examination with order restored in time for commencement.
 She explained how she abandoned her make-up and picked up an unscheduled head gear to respond to the development. “You know as teachers, we have different ways of communicating. What the teacher wanted to use was role-play and demonstration to create awareness using scenarios. However, they should have sought my permission especially because of the sensitivity of the topic and society.

 “Secondly, since they are in a school complex, the other principals should have been informed or carried along. Although the teacher had good intentions in effort to enlighten the students, unfortunately, it went wrong.
 “The major reason is that the environment is tense. Also, parents most likely already cautioned their wards on being alert. The news got to me almost immediately and I left all I was doing and got officers to respond,” she said.

 Already the concerned principals already reported to the Lagos Education District 1. The TG/PS went on to show pictures of students sitting for WAEC examination within the school complex and reports from officers on ground.
 As at press time, The Guardian could not reach the principal of the Ijaiye Ojokoro Junior College where the event was initiated. Also, details regarding the teaching staff who supervised the learning exercise and the outcome of his questioning by the police could not be obtained at press time.