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Mother alleges negligence as daughter dies at Lagos school sports event

A mother has raised alarm after her daughter allegedly died in a sporting event at Chrisland School, Lagos.


The mother, Blessing Adeniran, narrated a series of events that led to the death of her daughter named Whitney.


Blessing, in a video where broke down in tears, accused the school located in Victoria Garden City of negligence.


She narrated that the school was to have its annual sporting competition on February 9 at the Agege Stadium.


The mother said, when she couldn’t find her child in any of the activities at the stadium, she was told she slumped.


“February 9 was their inter-house sport. Last year, I couldn’t go [on time]. My daughter was angry I didn’t watch her march pass. I couldn’t find my way to Agege stadium. This year, I went before the event started,” she said.


“I met the principal, admin officer, members of the PTA committee, and some parents. The march pass happened. When it started, the first, second, and third houses marched but I didn’t see my child. She’s in the Green House.


“So I thought she’s among the queen’s entourage. But those ones and all others marched and I didn’t see her. I called the school driver to ask if she was among those he brought to the stadium. He said he did bring her.


“I crossed to the other side. I saw some students and asked. I told them I was looking for Whitney Adeniran. They told me a girl, Whitney, just fainted and is being taken to the hospital on the school bus.”


Blessing said she panicked and went after the bus, ending up at a health centre close to the Agege central mosque.


The mother said her daughter was already dead when she caught up with the team that rushed Whitney there.


She raised the alarm that the school had no provision for emergency response, hence didn’t administer first aid.


“No ambulance, doctors, or medical personnel in a place where you have about 500 students and over 100 parents. I rushed in to meet Whitney’s corpse on her deathbed. This happened in less than 10 minutes,” the mother said.


“I saw the staffer who went with her. I asked the doctor what happened and she said it’s looks like a cardiac arrest. How does a 12-year-old have a cardiac arrest without any pre-existing medical condition?


“If she was sick with even so much as a headache, I wouldn’t have let her go for the sport. By the time I got there, my daughter’s lips and tongue had already turned black. I jacked her up onto my chest but got no response.


“What happened to my daughter? This is my first child. I’ve never had one before. She was taken to an immunisation centre, not even a hospital. My pain was that there was no proper first aid.


“When she came in, they said she was dead on arrival. I’ve been asking Chrisland what happened. Nobody is telling me anything. They were at my house on Thursday. I don’t want to open up my child for autopsy.”


Meanwhile, the management of Chrisland schools has explained the incident that led to the death of the student,


In a press statement on Sunday, the school said, “The management and staff of Chrisland Schools Limited, with a deep sense of loss, announce the death of our precious student, Whitney Adeniran; whose painful exit occurred on Thursday, February 9th, 2023.


“We are heartbroken and distressed. Whitney was one of our Day students who opted not to participate in the inter-house sports match past for reasons we were not very sure of.


“However, on discretion, we respected her decision to err on the side of caution, because on the January 20, 2023, it is in our records that she had complained about a not-too-buoyant health and we immediately contacted her parents.


“Her father, Mr. Michael Adeniran, came to the school to take her home. We emphasised to her parents to take a critical look at her.”


The school said the deceased slumped in “public view and not under any hidden circumstances,” adding that she was rushed to the nearest medical facility for first aid.


“Our immediate response was to take advantage of proximity to first-aid, by identifying the nearest medical facility to take her to, where the doctor on duty, administered oxygen and every aid possible on her,” the statement said.


Chrisland appealed to the Adeniran family to establish a scientific verification of the underlying cause of her death before her burial.


“We immediately notified regulatory stakeholders and agencies to allow for a comprehensive evaluation and assessment of the developments.


“In spite of the compelling imperatives to fill any information gaps in public space, we stopped short of making any media sensation out of this, because the deceased in question, was a minor and is deserving of our unqualified respect.


“We also prioritised according respect to the privacy of the family and were with them consistently, to mourn together. This is a painful loss for all of us,” it added.


While mourning the incident, the management and staff of the Lagos-based school said they feel the deep pain of this loss and their thoughts and prayers are with the family.


“As we continue to uphold the sobriety of this moment, we resist any urge to join issues on her treasured memory, in media trends.


“As we await the outcome of an independent post-mortem process, we remain unwaveringly committed to supporting the family at this critical moment and pray fervently for the fortitude to bear her painful loss,” the statement added.


 

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