The management of Great Kezino Nursery and Primary School in the Agunfoye, Adamo area of Ikorodu, Lagos, has responded to a viral video by its former employee, Ambassador Rukayat Tobiloba, who claimed she could be jailed over an alleged defilement case.
The school said the matter is still pending before the Ikeja Magistrates’ Court and is currently awaiting a review of legal advice from the office of the Lagos State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Lawal Pedro.
Securitynewsalert.com heard that Tobiloba had earlier circulated a video on social media appealing for intervention, alleging that the court was seeking to imprison her over claims that she inserted a pencil into the private part of a nursery pupil. She also claimed the ordeal led to the loss of a pregnancy.
However, the school management, through its Head Teacher, Mrs Toyin Edaolaropin, said the allegations circulating online had been “misrepresented,” insisting that investigations found no wrongdoing on the part of the institution.
“We categorically reject the defamatory narratives making the rounds in the media. The school stood firmly and promptly in support of Mrs Tobiloba from the very beginning of her ordeal,” Edaolaropin said.
According to her, Tobiloba was employed as a Nursery One class teacher on September 13, 2021, while another teacher, Mrs Rukayat Lawal, served as the assistant teacher in the same class.
She explained that the incident at the centre of the controversy began on October 26, 2021, after a pupil identified as Victim A was taken home on the school bus and handed over to her father around 4:30 p.m.
“Later that night, the pupil’s mother contacted the teacher, claiming the child cried while bathing and alleged that a male classmate inserted a pencil into her private part during school hours,” Edaolaropin said.
She noted that the school immediately rejected the allegation, insisting that nothing of such happened while the child was in its custody.
“The following morning, the teacher visited the pupil’s home, where the father reportedly denied the mother’s account of the incident,” she added.
The situation escalated later when the parents arrived at the school with police officers from Imota Police Station, demanding that the alleged male pupil be produced.
“Police officers were surprised to discover that the accused pupil was only about three years old,” she said.
The case was subsequently transferred for further investigation, and both the class teacher and the assistant teacher were later arraigned in court for alleged negligence.
Edaolaropin said officials from the Lagos State Ministry of Youth and Social Development, the Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency (DSVA), and the Ministry of Education visited the school during the investigation.
“After their independent checks, none of the agencies found evidence linking the alleged incident to the school,” she said.
The school also stated that after about a year of litigation, the court discharged the assistant class teacher.
Despite the development, the school said it continued to support Tobiloba by hiring a lawyer, securing her bail, and covering several legal expenses for nearly four years.
“Staff members who barely knew her stood as guarantors for her bail. On every court date, the school catered for her feeding, transportation, and general well-being. At least four persons accompanied her to court each time, all at the expense of the school,” Edaolaropin said.
She further disclosed that the school’s lawyer also wrote to the Director of Public Prosecutions to review the report indicting the teacher, while the matter was also raised during a committee hearing at the Lagos State House of Assembly.
However, according to the school, the situation changed when Tobiloba allegedly stopped attending court proceedings.
“She last appeared in court on November 10, 2023. When the case was adjourned to March 5, 2024, she later informed us she was pregnant, and the court further adjourned the matter to August 5, 2024,” Edaolaropin said.
The head teacher added that in July 2024, when she contacted Tobiloba to remind her of the hearing, the former teacher allegedly said she had relocated to Ibadan and was no longer interested in the case.
“She clearly told us she would not be available for the court case again. Our lawyer still sought another adjournment to February 5, 2025, but from then she stopped responding to calls and messages,” she said.
According to the school, the court later issued a warrant for her arrest after she allegedly jumped bail.
“She was eventually arrested and remanded at Kirikiri Correctional Centre on March 10, 2025,” Edaolaropin said, adding that Tobiloba later engaged a new lawyer and terminated the services of the one hired by the school.
“At that point, the school had no option but to step away and allow her to handle the case in the manner she deemed fit,” she said.
The management maintained that it only became aware of the renewed public attention when the former teacher’s video began circulating online.
“The school knows nothing more about the case until she went to the media to tarnish the image of the school in an attempt to garner public sympathy,” Edaolaropin said.
She advised that further enquiries about the matter should be directed to the school’s legal representatives.
The case remains pending before the Ikeja Magistrates’ Court as authorities await the Attorney General’s legal advice on the next line of action.
