A major sex-for-marks scandal has rocked Babs Fafunwa Millennium Senior Secondary School in Ojodu-Berger, Lagos State, with the management of the school actively attempting to cover up the abuse of at least 11 girls by a Further Mathematics teacher, Mr. Egberongbe Adegbenga Toheeb.
SaharaReporters has obtained damning audio recordings of the victims narrating their ordeal at the hands of the disgraced teacher.
One of the victims detailed how the abuse began when she was in Senior School 1 and how Mr. Adegbenga manipulated her under the guise of helping with her mathematics grades.
She said, “When I was in SS1, we were in Mr. Gbenga’s office; then he saw me and my friends. He said he wanted to see me. He said I should come back alone. Later, I went back, and he asked if I was good at maths. I told him I wasn’t very good. He then told my friends to wait outside. He said he could be giving me marks. I asked how, but he said I would understand later.
“So in the third term, while we were still in SS1, he now said we were about to take exams and asked if I wouldn’t do what he asked for. I asked what, and he said if I complied, I wouldn’t fail.
“There was a particular topic he taught us, and we didn’t understand it. He then said he would teach me in his office. But before he started, he whispered in my ear, ‘I am going to kiss you after the teaching.’ After the exam, he told me we should meet at a hotel near Alagbon bus stop.”
Another victim narrated how he cornered her inside a classroom and attempted to assault her before she managed to escape.
“The day he touched me first, I confronted him. He said it was a mistake and that my body belonged to him. He said he wanted to date me and that I had no choice. I told him no,” the student said.
“Then one day after school, he found me alone in SS1 F class, removed his belt, and tried to force himself on me. I kept shouting, ‘Mr. Gbenga, stop!’ and I managed to escape.”
SaharaReporters learned that the teacher, who was not employed by the government but personally hired by the school principal, had been molesting female students for years before the scandal came to light.
School Management’s Attempted Cover-Up
When the scandal surfaced earlier this year, NYSC corps member Clement James, who was serving in the school and is also an alumnus, played a crucial role in exposing the abuse.
According to James, he reported the case to several agencies, including Education District VI, DOHS Cares Foundation, Lagos State Ministry of Education, Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency (DSVA) and the school principal.
SaharaReporters learnt that following these reports, the Ministry of Education’s Monitoring and Investigation Department arrested and handed over the teacher to the DSVA.
A court subsequently remanded him in March 2025.
However, instead of supporting the victims, the school management launched a smear campaign against James, banning him from the school premises and spreading false allegations against him.
Assault and Intimidation Against Whistleblower
On Monday, March 24, 2025, James returned to the school after previously being granted permission to take pictures with his students and NYSC certificate. Upon arrival, a teacher, Mrs. Yusuf, seized his phone from a student and handed it over to the principal.
“The principal summoned me to her office, demanding I unlock my phone so she could read through my chats and confiscate evidence. I refused. Then she ordered male teachers to block the entrance and threatened me into releasing my phone,” James recounted.
According to James, the vice principal, Mrs. Longe, recorded a video of him while the principal prevented him from leaving. The intimidation escalated further when he was confined to a toilet inside the principal’s office for several minutes.
“The principal stood firmly at the toilet entrance, preventing me from leaving until I surrendered my phone. But just as things were escalating, the Quality Assurance and ANCOPPS officials arrived for an unannounced visit. I used their presence to escape from the principal’s office where I was being assaulted.”
James further revealed that some teachers were instructed to turn students against him.
“Mrs. Dikko told SS1E students to chase me out if they saw me in their class. The management was hell-bent on silencing me because they knew I had damning evidence,” James said.
The Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency confirmed that the case is still in court and promised that it will not be swept under the rug.
“The PID thanked me for speaking up, promised to keep me anonymous, and assured me that the matter wouldn’t die under the carpet. They are also looking into how the school management seized my phone and held me in the toilet,” James disclosed.
It was also confirmed that Mr Adegbenga was arraigned and transferred to Alausa police station during the first hearing. At the second hearing, he was granted bail with a condition of ₦300,000. The case is scheduled for its next hearing on April 22, 2025.
When SaharaReporters contacted the school principal, Mrs. Osunrinde, she declined the call and subsequently blocked our phone number.
The vice principal, Mrs. Longe, also refused to comment, saying, “The matter is in court, and I will not make any comment on it. If the sources giving you information think they have anything to prove, they should come to court.”
The Lagos State Police Command spokesperson Benjamin Hundeyin declined to comment on the issue, saying, “It is prejudicial to speak about matters already in court.”
Despite the ongoing legal proceedings, the school management’s persistent efforts to cover up the scandal and intimidate those exposing the abuse highlight the deep-rooted culture of silence and complicity that allows sexual predators to thrive in Nigerian educational institutions.
Source: Sahara Reporters