A 10-year-old pupil identified simply as Rofiat lost her life after a car knocked her down on the premises of her school, Isiu Grammar School, in the Ikorodu area of Lagos State.
PUNCH Metro gathered on Wednesday that the incident occurred on Friday, September 29.
Rofiat was said to have joined her friends on the school playground while preparing for the closing period. After a while, a vehicle parked by a teacher identified simply as Dele some meters away reportedly started to roll backwards towards her direction.
The female junior class student who did not notice the oncoming Nissan car got knocked down in the process.
A resident of the area said, “We were told that the incident happened around 1pm. The car had been parked there since morning when the teacher arrived. We don’t know how it managed to move from the position.
“Meanwhile, Rofiat was backing the moving vehicle. The moment the vehicle hit her, the impact made her hit her forehead on the ground. It was other students who rushed to call the teachers who came to the scene and found her motionless.”
The resident said Rofiat was rushed to the hospital for medical attention.
She was taken to Isiotu General Hospital where she was admitted and attended to. It was later that the medical staff members there discovered that her case had become critical. That was when they referred those who took her there to Agbowa General Hospital. On getting to Agbowa, she was immediately taken to the emergency section where she was later confirmed dead.
“Following her death, some police officers came to the school premises to take photographs and also interrogated some teachers who were on duty when the incident happened,” the resident added.
A police source told our correspondent that the owner of the car was taken into custody after he went to the police station to report the incident.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed the incident.
“Yes, it happened. The owner of the car was taken into custody. An investigation is ongoing,” Hundeyin said.