Colleagues of a detained Lagos teacher, Peter Shodipe of Ijaiye Ojokoro Junior College, have appealed to authorities to thoroughly review the circumstances surrounding a drama presentation that allegedly triggered panic among students in the school.

Shodipe was arrested after a co-curricular programme organised by the National Value Education Department of the school caused confusion when some students mistook a drama presentation on banditry for a real-life attack.

The incident, which occurred during a Wednesday co-curricular activity, later drew the attention of the police after frightened students shouted that bandits had invaded the school.

Speaking with our correspondent on Saturday, sources within the school maintained that Shodipe was merely carrying out an approved educational assignment.

A teacher in the school, who requested anonymity for fear of victimisation, said the programme had been planned as part of activities marking National Awareness Day and was intended to educate students about insecurity, particularly banditry and kidnapping.

According to the source, the National Value Education Department, comprising teachers of Social Studies, Civic Education, Security Education and History, had agreed to organise a pep talk, quiz competition and drama presentation focusing on the causes, effects and prevention of insecurity.

Shodipe, who was assigned to coordinate the drama, reportedly selected students from JSS3 for the presentation and supervised rehearsals a day before the event.

The source said, “The drama was not a standalone activity. It was part of a broader educational programme. We prepared quiz questions, assigned teachers to different responsibilities and planned awareness talks.

“The drama was intended to help students understand the realities of insecurity and the importance of vigilance. It was never conceived as entertainment or content for social media.”

The source explained that preparations for the programme began within the school compound on the morning of the event.

The teacher specifically noted that the preparations were observed by officials of the Lagos State Neighbourhood Safety Corps stationed at the school.

“Students changed into costumes near the school gate while officials of the Lagos State Neighbourhood Safety Corps stationed at the school observed the preparations.

A staff member volunteered a bus to serve as a prop for the drama, and the vehicle remained on the school premises throughout the preparations.

“Some parents dropping off their children also saw students changing into costumes and understood that a drama presentation was about to take place,” the source added.

However, confusion reportedly erupted when the bus moved into position for the performance.

Some students who had not been briefed on the exercise allegedly began shouting, “Bandits! Bandits!” causing panic among other students and staff members.

The situation escalated as frightened students fled into neighbouring schools within the educational complex before some eventually ran onto nearby roads.

This also prompted concerned residents to alert security agencies.

Another teacher in the school, who also preferred not to be named due to the sensitive nature of the incident, said police officers later arrived and arrested Shodipe.

“When the officers arrived, they first went to the principal’s office. The principal later took them into the staffroom, where Mr Shodipe was identified.

“Education officials and school administrators subsequently made efforts to intervene, but by then the matter had already been escalated beyond the divisional level before the teacher was transferred to the state command headquarters,” the source said.

The detention of the teacher has generated concern among colleagues, particularly following comments made by the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Tijani Fatai, who described the incident as content creation.

Speaking during a strategic meeting with police officers on Friday, the police commissioner said, “I can recall a teacher tried to create content around banditry and some other students who were not there got to know of this, and this caused a lot of pandemonium within the school.”

He further warned content creators against raising false alarms, stating that anyone found creating unnecessary content around sensitive security issues would face the law.

However, the colleagues strongly disputed that characterisation, insisting that describing the activity as content creation misrepresented the context in which it occurred.

The teacher further said, “We were surprised to hear it described that way because this was not a skit designed for social media and nobody was creating content.

“Mr Shodipe is a classroom teacher. He was assigned by the department to coordinate one aspect of an officially approved school programme, just as other teachers were assigned to handle the quiz and awareness sessions. Everything happened within the framework of teaching and learning.”

The source said the existence of departmental plans, rehearsals and other programme components demonstrated that the exercise was educational in nature.

“If this had been a personal project, people might understand the allegation. But this was a departmental activity involving multiple teachers and students. There were meetings, preparations and assigned responsibilities. The unfortunate panic that followed does not change the original purpose of the programme.

“The programme involved several teachers and formed part of activities approved by the department. What happened was an unintended consequence of a role-play exercise, not an attempt to create online content or spread a false alarm,” the source added.

The teacher acknowledged that communication gaps may have contributed to the misunderstanding but argued that any shortcomings should be treated as administrative issues rather than criminal conduct.

“We are not saying everything was perfect. Looking back, perhaps more people should have been informed because of the sensitive nature of the topic. But there is a difference between a mistake in planning and a criminal act. Nobody intended to cause panic, and nobody gained anything from what happened,” the source added.

The sources further appealed to the authorities to consider testimonies from parents, security personnel, students and staff members who witnessed the preparations before reaching any conclusions.

“What we are asking for is fairness. Let investigators speak with the teachers who planned the programme, the security personnel who witnessed the preparations and the parents who saw the students getting ready for the drama.

“We believe Mr Shodipe deserves a fair hearing and should not be punished for what appears to have been an unintended misunderstanding.”

It was gathered that efforts by Shodipe’s family to gain access to the detained teacher have so far been unsuccessful.

When contacted for a reaction, the Secretary of the National Union of Teachers in Lagos State, Gbenga Ayetobo, said the union had no information on the incident.

“No information for now, please,” he said.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, Abimbola Adebisi, could not be reached for comment as calls and text messages sent to her phone number were not responded to as of the time of filing this report. (The PUNCH)

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