Mentally ill man takes over primary school, attacks pupils, teachers

A suspected mentally ill man has subjected the lives of pupils and teachers of AUD Primary School, Irona, Ado-Ekiti to grave danger after turning the school to his abode.

The lunatic chases pupils and throws stones at teachers anytime he sees them within the school premises. Already, the madman has taken over 10 classrooms and littered them with refuse while he sleeps in one of the classrooms.

Apart from the lunatic holding sway, suspected rapists, burglars and Indian hemp smokers have turned the popular primary school to their hideouts.

This development has led to a drop in enrolment in the school as parents, who are scared of the activities of the marauding lunatic and criminals, have withdrawn their wards from the school.

The head teacher, Mrs. Taibat Yusuf, in a chat with newsmen yesterday, called for the intervention of the state government. Yusuf said the activities of the lunatic and suspected criminals have constituted threats to learning in the school.

She said: “We are calling on the state government to intervene and help us evacuate the lunatic from the school compound because of the threat he poses to pupils and staff. The madman chases our pupils, throws stones at teachers and always threatens them anytime they are in school.

“Teachers and pupils are always gripped by fear that he may invade their classrooms anytime and this won’t make them to concentrate. Also, our school compound has been turned to a den of rapists, Indian hemp smokers and other criminals and this has led to withdrawal of many pupils from the school.

“Besides, we want to government to renovate the collapsed fence, which gives easy access to the lunatic and men of the underworld. Many of our classrooms have become dilapidated and the school also needs gate as a form of security for teachers and pupils.”

An alumnus of the school, Alhaji Olohunkemi Tajudeen Ogunjobi, who lamented the sorry state of his alma mater, called for a revamp of the school by the state government.

Ogunjobi said: “It is a pity that a school which I attended has been turned to an abode of a madman and criminals. Security of the teachers and their pupils are not guaranteed. Enrolment in the school has dropped from over 150 pupils to less than 30.

“We want the police and Civil Defence officers to come here and arrest the lunatic. Besides, government should also employ a day guard and night watchman to guard the school. The dilapidated classrooms should be demolished to have an open field where pupils can play and which can be rented out for social functions to generate revenue.”