Police: We are investigating death of 12-year-old Chrisland student

•Parents seek justice, blame school for negligence
•Whitney slumped in public, says school

The Lagos State Police Command has said it is investigating the case of a Chrisland Schools student, Whitney Adeniran, who was reported to have slumped during the school’s inter-house sports event.

Parents of 12-year-old student of Chrisland High School, the Adenirans have called on Nigerians to help get justice for their daughter and full disclosure of what transpired before she slumped.

Miss Adeniran was said to have slumped on February 9, 2023, during the school’s inter-house sports at the Agege Stadium and was put in the school bus, driven to a hospital and died on the way to the hospital.

It was alleged that Chrisland School held the event without an Ambulance, paramedics, medical personnel or safety corps.

Her father, Michael Adeyemi Adeniran, while calling for help not to let the death of his daughter be swept under the carpet, accused the school of not giving his daughter adequate attention.

Her father claimed that Whitney dressed up from home, healthy with no health conditions or sickness at all. The school bus came to pick her up to the venue of the event at Agege stadium. He said his wife later dressed up and went to attend the event, but noticed that her daughter was not among students partaking in the activities. Then she started looking for her, asking the students and teachers about her.

He said: “My wife noticed a gathering of students as if something was going on, so, she walked towards the place to ask about her daughter, and as she approached, she noticed the school bus drove in speed and she was wondering why the bus sped out in such manner, but when she got there, she showed a student her daughter’s picture, the student said she’s the one that was rushed out in the school bus.

Adeniran added: “She located a teacher and asked what happened and she was told Whitney slumped. She called immediately and told me they said my daughter slumped and they were taking her to the hospital. That I should be coming right away while she went to the hospital. On getting to the health centre, their excuse was that because of traffic they couldn’t get there in time and they told my wife that our daughter had died. I got there myself and I was asking questions, they couldn’t answer me, because I saw her body, the eyes, lips and face had become dark in less than an hour. I asked the nurse what happened and she said by the time she got to the school, my daughter had died but she couldn’t pronounce her dead because she was not a doctor.

“I’ve been asking Chrisland School to tell me what happened to my daughter, but they are saying they don’t know, she just slumped and died. Please come to my aid, this needs to be the last time this should happen because of their negligence and incompetence. I paid heavily in this school and they couldn’t get a first aid on stand by for their inter-house or pay proper attention to the students?”.

Reacting, Chairman, Advisory Board, Chrisland Schools Ltd, Ike Ofuokwu, said: “We are heartbroken and distressed over the death of our precious student, Whitney Adeniran, whose painful exit occurred on Thursday, February 9, 2023.

“Whitney opted not to participate in the inter house sports march past for reasons we were not very sure about. However, on discretion, we respected her decision to err on the side of caution.

“On January 20, she complained about a not too buoyant health and we immediately contacted her parents. Her father, Mr. Adeniran came to the school to take her home. We emphasised to her parents to take a critical look at her.

“It is instructive to state that Whitney slumped in public view and not under any hidden circumstances. Our immediate response was to take advantage of proximity by identifying the nearest medical facility to take her to, where the doctor on duty administered oxygen and every aid possible on her.

“Even as her family made funeral plans for an immediate burial, we differed politely and reiterated the need to establish a scientific verification of the underlying cause of death as mandatorily required in circumstances like this. We immediately notified regulatory stakeholders and agencies to allow for a comprehensive evaluation and assessment of the developments.

“In spite of the compelling imperatives to fill any information gaps in public space, we stopped short of making any media sensation out of this because the deceased was a minor and is deserving of our unqualified respect.

“As we continue to uphold the sobriety of this moment. We resist any urge to join issues or trend her treasured memory on media traffic.”

MEANWHILE, the Lagos State Police Command, yesterday, said it’s investigating cause of the death of Whitney.

Speaking on the matter, Spokesperson of the Command, Benjamin Hundeyin, said: “We are investigating the matter and we will make the outcome known soon.

Also, Human Rights Writers Association Of Nigeria (HURIWA), yesterday, asked the Lagos State Government and the State House of Assembly to pass legislative frameworks to protect school children.