By Adedapo Adesanya
**As Government Suspends Headteacher
The Kwara State Government has suspended the leader of an Arabic school in the Ganmo area of the state whose students were seen in a viral Internet video being punished for alleged misconduct.
This was made known by the state’s Commissioner for Education and Human Capital Development in the state, Mrs Sa’adatu Modibbo Kawu, in a statement on Sunday.
The viral video showed some students of the Madrasa brutally flogged by their instructors had elicited nationwide debate and outrage over the weekend with many Nigerians condemning the action while calling on the Kwara State Government to investigate it.
Speaking on what led to the action, one of the students who was brutally flogged and identified as Nasirudeen Muhideen, disclosed that they all attended a birthday party last Sunday but only one among them drank a bottle of Trophy while the others drank Malta Guinness and energy drinks which are non-alcoholic.
The assembly had been called by the school authorities over the viral video showing the students being flogged brutally, with many calling for more action against the parties.
In the statement, the Kwara commissioner said a government delegation which included the Divisional Police Officer Ganmo, SP Oko Nkama; and a representative of the NSCDC DSC Parati AbdulHameed visited the Arabic school and took the decision to suspend the headteacher of the Madrasa.
It was explained that, “The government’s team carefully listened to the authorities of the Arabic school, the father of the sole girl in the video, and four other students involved in the unsavoury development.
“Regardless of the explanations of the authorities on the development, the self-confessed consent of the parents and regret of the affected students, the government seriously frowns at the harsh beating seen in the footage.
“Consequently, the government has directed the setting up of an investigative committee, comprising Muslim scholars, leaders and government officials, to look into the issue while the head of the Arabic school, who admitted to directing the punishment, has been asked to step aside pending the conclusion of the investigation.
“The government has also taken the affected students to a public hospital for proper medical examination and treatment. This is to ensure that none of them suffers any physical or psychological damage.”
The government appealed to the people of the area to be calm “while the committee does it works and submits a report for further action”.
Modupe Gbadeyanka