Police have arrested Mr. Olaseni Osifala, a teacher accused of sexually harassing a student of Queen’s College, Yaba, Lagos. Osifala, a source said, was arrested on Tuesday and detained at the state Police Command Headquarters, Ikeja, in connection with the allegation.

But when contacted on the phone yesterday, the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Dolapo Badmos, denied that the police had arrested Osifala. Badmos said police were intensifying their investigation into the allegation. But the PPRO agreed that Osifala was still with the police at 9:10p.m yesterday.

She said: “We have not arrested or detained Mr. Osifala. We are only interrogating him.” At 9:20pm, Osifala’s phone number was switched off. Also yesterday, schism appeared in the rank of teachers of the school, over the allegation levelled against Osifala.

The school’s chapter of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) suddenly called off its planned protest in Osifala’s defence following the insistence by some members that they could not defend what they described as illegality.

This came as the state Police Commissioner, Fatai Owoseni, denounced report that the police had identified and summoned the said Mrs. Chineye Okoye, who reportedly levelled the allegation against Osifala.

The police chief described the report as ‘speculation’. Meanwhile, Queen’s College teachers reportedly said that their colleague could not totally be absolved of the allegation. One of the teachers, who craved anonymity, said there had been rumour of similar allegations against other teachers in the past. But speaking on why the teachers called off their protest, ASCSN Chairman, Mr. Sarafadeen Oladejo, said the association heard it on good authority that some individuals were planning to hijack the procession.

Investigation showed that a worker in the school was in 2011 arrested and dismissed in 2013 for molesting the daughter of a staff member of the school. The accused, identified simply as Mukaiba, was said to be a carpenter with the Federal Ministry of Education who was posted to the school. He was found guilty of the allegation when medical test was conducted on the victim.

“That was during the tenure of the late Principal, Mrs. Modupe Ladipo, and she immediately sent the person to Abuja for trial. After more than a year, he was dismissed from service. But in this case there has been no official report and we don’t know why some members will be raising unfounded allegation,” the source said.

The school has closed for the term as many parents had flooded the school to take their wards home. But the SS III students are expected to return to school on Tuesday, March 29.

•Credit (except headline): New Telegraph. Photo shows embattled Queen’s College teacher, Olaseni Osifala.

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