…..My Son wasn’t cheating, We never hired Thugs to attack School Vice Principal.
The family of Master Elisha Wisdom, a student of the Complete Child Development Centre, Aule, Akure, has strongly denied widely circulated claims alleging the pupil’s involvement in exam malpractice and a violent assault on a school official.
In a swift response, the family has initiated a defamation lawsuit at a court against the school, its Vice Principal, and a media platform for what they described as a “deliberate smear campaign” against a minor.
In a petition dated May 30, 2025, addressed to the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Elisha Collins Imokhuede, the pupil’s father, detailed disturbing events that unfolded after a teacher at the school confiscated a phone belonging to Wisdom’s mother.
He said Wisdom, whose phone was taken from him and locked away to allow him to concentrate on his examination, had taken his mother’s phone to school without her consent.
He claimed the family was unaware of the incident, as they spent the previous day looking everywhere in the house for the phone.
“Wisdom never discussed that phone throughout our search until he couldn’t retrieve it from the school on his own. Before we got in the know and everything was later revealed, he had pleaded with his brother to help him retrieve the phone from school, but the Principal refused and insisted on both of them bringing their parent. And since they were left with no other way out, they were forced to contact their mother, who then went with them to the school on the second day,” Mr. Imokhuede said.
He further narrated that the Principal insisted on keeping the phone till after the NECO exam. He claimed the mother also pleaded for the school management to release the SIM card and keep the phone, as it’s for her business, but they also refused. The father said it took the intervention of other parents who encountered the incident for the phone to be released.
He said, “In all of these, there was no violence but verbal exchanges. Also note that this incident did not happen in an examination hall. And as a parent, I fully understand and support the action of the school in confiscating the phone and would raise no objection to any form of punishment as a result, and it is on record that the school spares no rod.
“That, as a matter of fact, is one of my attractions to the school, and I have never had a problem with my children being disciplined,” Mr. Imokhuede added.
Upset by the claimed ‘disrespect’ shown to the VP by the older brother of the student, the VP stormed the family’s house in search of the brother with the help of policemen from Okuta Elerinla Police Station.
“When they did not find Israel, the older brother, they bundled his 13-year-old cousin, Gideon Osesa, from the roadside in what neighbours feared was an attempted kidnapping using a police vehicle. During the ensuing commotion, sparked by Gideon’s screams and public alarm, the Vice Principal reportedly sustained a minor injury.
“However, what followed shocked us: a viral social media post falsely alleged that the Vice Principal had been ‘brutally beaten by thugs paid by a parent,’ and that the student’s mother threatened to kill school staff if her son wasn’t allowed to cheat in the WAEC Mathematics exam.
“These are baseless and outrageous lies. We are law-abiding citizens. My son is a diligent student. Two of my children have graduated from the school without a single incident, and two are currently in different classes. We are not just countering these lies—we are taking legal action.
“I am a member of the PTA, and I wonder what it would have taken to extend an invitation to me by the school or the police rather than embark on a Gestapo-style arrest of a minor at 8:30 in the dead of night. Anyone who is remotely familiar with our family knows we earn our honest living and would never cheat, be it in an exam or life itself.
“I hold a Bsc in Political Science from the University of Benin, and I mould blocks to earn a living and send my kids to school- No shame. At any rate, if you have gone to the police station to lay a complaint on a criminal allegation, what was the whole point of a smear campaign and unleashing the dark side of social media?”
The defamatory message, circulated under the guise of a whistleblower alert, names Master Wisdom Elisha directly and accuses his mother of criminal conduct. “This is a gross violation of a child’s rights and a reckless endangerment of my family’s safety,” Mr. Imokhuede added.
The family’s legal representatives have confirmed that a suit for defamation has been filed and that they are demanding full retractions and public apologies from the school, the Vice Principal, and the Publication, which allegedly played a key role in amplifying the false message.
“It is on record that the men of Okuta Elerinla have a reputation for exploiting the community they have sworn to protect under different guises. A petition has been made to the Inspector General of Police, Abuja. I am relentless, and I will seek justice at whatever cost.” Mr. Imokhuede concluded.
