Chrisland: “My information on Whitney’s electrocution from schoolboy, not Instagram” mother says

ARINZE NWAFOR, Lagos

Continuing the cross-examination, Blessing Adeniran, the mother of late Whitney, a student of Chrisland schools, Ikeja, said that she did not get the information that her daughter was allegedly electrocuted from an Instagram message but from a Chrisland school boy.

Ajibola Ariba, the counsel to the fifth defendant which is the school, on Friday, told Adeniran that she gave a different testimony from her earlier evidence during cross-examination by saying that it was a schoolboy who was her source of information on the alleged electrocution of the deceased.

The Lagos State Government brought charges on March 31, 2023, against Chrisland School Ltd., Opebi, and its principal, vice principal and two others for the death of Whitney.

Whitney, aged 12-year-old, died of an alleged electrocution on February 9, 2023, during an Inter-house sports competition that was held at the Agege Stadium, Lagos State.

The defendants were arraigned before Justice Oyindamola Ogala.

Ariba requested the court for the witness to read out from the police statement that she gave at the State Criminal Investigation Department, SCID, Panti over the incident of her daughter’s death.

The judge, Ogala, granted the request of the counsel and entered Adeniran’s police statement into evidence as Exhibit PW2A1-2.

Upon the request of the counsel to the fifth defendant, the witness read from her police statement and confirmed that it was the schoolboy who told her that the deceased was electrocuted.

When Ariba asked whether she knew the name of the schoolboy, the witness replied in the negative.

Adeniran said, “The schoolboy told me that one girl named Whitney had slumped and was electrocuted and that people were pouring water on her.”

The counsel to the fifth defendant asked the witness if she knew that her statement confirming the Chrisland school boy as her source of information on the electrocution of the deceased was different from the evidence she gave earlier during cross-examination by the counsel to the third defendant, Olukayode Enitan, SAN on January 25, 2024.

The witness replied, “No.”

Ariba further queried the witness on whether she had earlier said that her information on the alleged electrocution of Whitney was gotten from an Instagram message, and she replied in the negative.

The counsel to Victoria Nwatu, the fourth defendant who is also the school nurse, Ademola Animasaun, continued his cross-examination of the witness.

Animasaun asked the witness whether her daughter ate the breakfast that she was preparing on the morning of February 9, 2023, to which she replied that she did not know.

He asked the witness whether she knew that the anxiety attack which her late daughter was diagnosed with on January 20, 2023, was a serious illness, and the witness replied in the negative.

Ogala adjourned the matter to March 1, for the continuation of the cross-examination of the witness.