Abuja School Speaks On Controversial Death Of 14-year-old Female Student

• We mourn in truth and indeed – Premiere Academy
• Alleged perpetrators, if any will be brought to book – Ag Principal
• Fears of likely health complications, case mismanagement – Matron
• Trauma from sexual abuse caused her death – Family alleges

BY COBHAM NSA – The Nigeria Police in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have their hands full unraveling circumstances surrounding the death of a 14-year old student of Premiere Academy, Lugbe, Abuja, Miss Keren-Happuch Akpagher, with the school denying complicity in any alleged crime associated with the case.

And the school authorities has vowed that they will leave no stone unturned in getting to the root of the matter with justice eventually served on any individual or group identified as perpetrators by the ongoing Police investigations.

Principal of the academy, Mr Chris Akinsowon said at a media briefing on Friday that the School is deeply worried and pained by the student’s demise, and “has commenced an internal investigation of the circumstances surrounding her death”, assuring that; “No stone will be left unturned in our quest to get to the root of this matter as a school and parents to find the real cause of the unfortunate demise of our dear daughter and further forestall such incidents in the future.”

In a statement titled; “We mourn in truth and indeed”, the Principal said; “As an institution, the safety and security of our students are most paramount to us, including their protection against sexual assaults of any type and kind in our school.”

According to Mr Akinsowon; “Our clarification is to state our findings in the ongoing investigation regarding Miss Keren-Happuch Akpagher, especially in her last few weeks as a student of the school.

“We initially issued a statement on 29th June 2021 where we commiserated with the family of the deceased and stated our position which included the following: Keren Akpagher, reported to the School Clinic on 17th June 2021 with a complaint of redness of the eye. Her mother requested that she be taken to see an ophthalmologist on Saturday,19th June 2021. She was taken for the appointment in the morning of the same day.

“On her return to the school, her mother further requested to take her home because Keren was insisting on going home for that weekend. An exeat was granted and she was released to her mother on Saturday afternoon in a stable condition.”

Giving further insight into the case, the Principal said; “The school only got to know about her hospitalisation in the morning of Monday, 21st June 2021. We mobilised immediately and paid her a visit at the hospital on that day. It was with deep sympathy that we later heard of her demise early the next day, Tuesday, 22nd June 2021.”

Addressing the issue of releasing the student to the mother at the ophthalmologist’s clinic where she requested for her, the Principal further explained that; “The school did not refuse to grant the mother of the deceased custody of the sick daughter at any point.

“The official of the school (a nurse), who accompanied the student could not release her to the mother at the hospital because the due procedure for releasing a student had not been completed. After they got to the school, an exeat was processed and she was duly released to her mother.”

Mr Akinsowon, who assured that as a responsible corporate citizen, the Academy considers the “safety and security of our students” most paramount, said the school deliberately protects its students against “sexual assaults of any type and kind.”

“In the light of this incident, we have honoured the invitation from the Nigerian Police investigating the case surrounding her death, where we cooperated with them and stated our commitment to assisting them in their quest to unravel the controversies.

“Since the demise, the school has visited the family several times – 15 management officers on the day of her death, delivered a condolence letter on the second day”, the Principal said.

Mr Akinsowon, who addressed the media accompanied by a clearly distraught top management staff, however, pleaded for understanding and restrain by all concerned, saying; “While we appreciate the sensitivity of the issues at the moment, we appeal for restraint on the part of the media, at this time we are all grieving, from sharing unconfirmed information that could jeopardise the case and cause further harm to the family of our dear student. It also jeopardises the effort of the law enforcement agencies towards solving the case.”

Collaborating the principal’s statement, Matron of the School clinic, Mrs Grace Salami said given the situation at hand, allegations flying around from different sources are substantially inconsistent in relation to the student’s medical history and events leading to her demise.

While noting with concern that the late girl, a diabetic, was sedated, with both hands and feet tied before her death at the clinic where she received treatment, Mrs Salami, said the claims by the Akpagher family and findings at the Queen’s hospital do not add up on the likely cause of death.

Mrs Salami reacted to claims that some extraneous materials were found inside the student’s private part during medical examination just before her passing, saying; “In the first place, condom is latex and it is not supposed to decay, and if it has been in her private part for days, the sperm cells should not be found in her urine.”

Further going down memory lane, the Matron, who has spent over two decades in medical practice; said; “Keren-Happuch was admitted into the school in 2019 with a medical history of diabetes that was first diagnosed when was nine years old. The school has been giving her insulin injections twice daily and sometimes special diets were prepared for her to enable her to live a normal life in school.”

According to her; “On Thursday, June 17, she (the deceased) complained of having a red itchy eye. So, we provided her with basic care and an eye drop to use in school. But her mother insisted on her seeing an ophthalmologist in town and we obliged.

“But when the girl returned from the visit to the ophthalmologist, she insisted on going home on personal grounds. After consultations between her parents and the school management, an exeat was granted to her.

“Two days later, her mother called me to say that the daughter was acting delirious, and that, I should come right away to the hospital where they had rushed her for medical attention.

“On getting there, I discovered that the girl was totally in a coma. I was shocked. When the mother called me, she said the girl was delirious. So, why is she in a coma? I had asked.

“I was told that she was struggling so the doctor had to sedate her. I was not comfortable with that patient management because the girl was diabetic. Her hands and feet were equally tied to the bed to restrain her.

“Her sugar level had risen to about 400 which is fatal. So, I asked the mother, if Keren-Happuch took her insulin injection while she was at home for two days but there was no positive response.”

Prompted further on what could possibly have happened between Saturday, June 19, and Tuesday, June 22, Mrs Salami said the Academy would await the conclusion of Police investigations but did not rule out a situation where late Akpagher’s health condition may have been unconsciously mismanaged during the short period.

The social media have been awash with unconfirmed reports that Akpagher passed on after doctors discovered a used condom, supposedly left inside her private part by some unknown persons in school, fuelling speculations around issues of possible sexual molestation and trauma.

However, sources at Queens Hospital, located at Wuse Zone 6, Abuja where the girl eventually took her last breadth, blamed vaginal infection and sepsis for her death.

One of the sources, who refused to have his name in print, said; ‘Medically, it is possible to assume that the girl died of trauma from sexual molestation’.

On their part, sources close to the deceased’s family alleged that the girl was in an emotionally unstable condition before being rushed to the hospital where she later died.

The source, which admitted that the school had granted her a request for exeat to go home on personal grounds, however, disclosed that the late teenage girl surprisingly became restless and incoherent less than 48 hours after she got home from the School.

“Thank God, we picked her from the school. She exhibited an acutely disturbed state of mind before she died”, the family source claimed.

Opening up on the allegations, the source further alleged thus; “Our daughter was traumatised in school. She became unconscious while in the hospital, and when the doctors tried to pass a catheter and a urine bag to aid her evacuation of body waste, some strange substances were found in her private part.

“Upon medical examination, the substance was discovered to be a decayed condom, and sperm cells were found in her urine. It’s painful, she didn’t wake from the coma to tell us who did this evil to her.”

Efforts at contacting the Medical Director at Queen’s Hospital for further explanation on the alleged foreign substances reportedly found in the deceased’s private part were not successful as his number was not going through with calls.

A visit to the medical facility also did not yield the expected result as officials on duty refused to comment on the case, maintaining that they do not have the management’s mandate to respond to any enquiries concerning the girl’s death since the Police were already investigating the matter.

At the FCT Police Command, our enquiries revealed that investigations into the case are in top gear, even as insiders said the Force would await the result of an autopsy to be conducted in order to confirm the cause of death.

A competent Police source however commended the Premiere Academy management for fully cooperating with the Force in the ongoing investigation process.