Court Dismisses Suit Instituted By Nine-Year-Old Girl

An Ado Ekiti High Court on Wednesday dismissed a suit instituted by a nine-year-old Junior Secondary School I student of Mary Immaculate Girls Grammar School, Ado Ekiti, filed by her mother.

Respondents in the suit are the School Principal, Mrs Oluwasanmi Funmilayo, Ekiti Commissioner of Education, Ekiti Teaching Service Commission and the Government.

Delivering judgment, Justice Lekan Ogunmoye, held that the applicant did not place before the court credible and sufficient evidence to convince it to grant her prayers.

“It is also trite, that applications for the enforcement of fundamental rights are granted once the rights of the applicants are shown to have been breached or threatened.

“This was not done in the instant case.

‘’The sole issue for determination is hereby resolved against the claimants, the reliefs sought are hereby dismissed,’’ he said.
Counsel to the applicant, Mr Timileyin Omotoso among other reliefs sought a declaration that the physical, mental, violence, abuse, negligent treatment of the nine-year-old JSS 1 student was illegal and unconstitutional.

He said it was a violation of his client’s fundamental right to the dignity of her person as guaranteed under section 34(1)(a) of the Constitution of Nigeria as amended and Article 5, of the African Charter accordingly.

He also sought for an order directing the respondents to immediately lift the suspension placed on the applicant on May 19 in the school and reabsorb her to continue her education and learning forthwith”

He also sought for an order directing the respondents to pay N15million as general damages for the violation of her fundamental rights to education, dignity, fair hearing and the protection of the Child Right.
Counsel for the respondents, S.B.J. Bamise in his counter-affidavit, described all averments in the Originating Summons, as not only untrue but total falsehood.

According to one of the respondents, Mrs Funmilayo Oluwasanmi, the girl on May 19, went to the school with a weird, indecent and unapproved hairdo, in an attempt to correct and scold her, she shouted at her teacher, that it was her mother who made the hair for her birthday.

Oluwasanmi said following her unruly behaviour, she was punished and given two strokes of the cane and warned not to come to school with such a hairdo again.

He said during a meeting with the girl and her mother, she called her husband, Moses Igenoisa, a Police Officer, who stormed the school with five fully armed Policemen.

“On their arrival, they beat up and harassed some school teachers.

“They forced opened the school gate and in the process, wounded the gateman,” he said.

Speaking after the judgment, the applicant’s counsel said he will appeal the judgment.