Whitney Adeniran: Family protests as Chrisland opens school despite Lagos order
By Trek Africa Newspaper
The family of the late Whitney Adeniran has kicked as the management of Chrisland School opened school as against the order by the Lagos state government.
Recall that the Lagos government on Sunday ordered the closure of Chrisland School in Opebi, Ikeja, over the death of Adeniran.
It was gathered that the late student died during a sports event on February 9.
But on Monday, Chrisland appeared to have continued academic activities at the primary school, provoking a chorus of condemnation from the relatives of the deceased student.
The family members of Whitney were seen protesting at the gate while demanding “a complete shutdown” of Chrisland School.
Emmanuel Adeniran, a man who claimed to be the brother to Whitney’s father, said the little girl was “vibrant and healthy” and had been training for the event.
He also argued that the school should be held accountable for its alleged negligence.
“Why we are here is that the school should be closed. Talking about the ailment, the school knows what they are actually doing,” he told TheCable Lifestyle.
“Go on Twitter, the father made a video. So, Whitney is super vibrant and healthy, so they are just cooking up stories to cover up and we’ll not let that to happen.
“We have our evidence, the students are talking and they are also angry that the school is not saying the truth so we’ll not let that go under the carpet.”
Another family member, Constance Christopher said they are demanding justice for Whitney.
She also asked the school authorities to obey the government order and observe a total shutdown.
“We want justice for Whitney Adeniran, if the state government has issued an order that the school Chrisland should be shut down, it should be shut down,” said Constance, who is believed to be the sister to the mother of the deceased student.
“Not them telling us whether primary, secondary.. are they bearing different names?”
The mother of the deceased, Blessing, had earlier accused Chrisland of negligence as her family continued to question the school.
She argued that the school made no provision for emergency response at the event, hence didn’t administer first aid.
The mother said the girl had no pre-existing heart condition despite the doctor’s allusion to a cardiac arrest.
In a reaction, the management at Chrisland School earlier said Whitney had reported “not-too-buoyant” health on January 20, contrary to claims by her parents.
The school said it opted to take Whitney to a health centre, and not a hospital, based on proximity considerations.
Chrisland also dismissed insinuations that there was foul play in the death case while citing that she slumped in public.
This is not the first time Chrisland School in Lagos would be at the centre of a crisis involving one of its students.
In mid-2022, four teachers were arraigned after a sex tape by Chrisland pupils surfaced online during an outing.
Recall that, in 2019, an ex-staffer of the Chrisland in VGC bagged a 60-year jail term for defiling a two-year-old girl in 2016.
