A Vice Principal of a private secondary school in Akure, Ondo State, has been attacked and brutally beaten by thugs allegedly hired by the mother of a student for preventing her child from cheating during the ongoing West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).

The Vice Principal, Rotifa, of Complete Child Development College, Aule, Akure, was allegedly descended on after seizing an Android phone from an SS3 student, Wisdom Elisa, in the examination hall.

According to a teacher in the school, the Vice Principal is currently receiving treatment in St. John and Mary Hospital, Odokoyi, with other members of staff of the school scared of similar action.

The teacher, who craved anonymity, appealed to the police and other security agencies to save them, particularly as the mother of the student had allegedly continued to make further threats.

Meanwhile, the state government has vowed to take action over the incident, stating arrangements for the safety of members of staff and students of the school for the period of the remaining papers for the WASSCE.

Director of Schools, Ministry of Education in the state, in a statement, said: “On Thursday, the mother of the student came to the school to fight with the school management so much that the proprietor of the school ordered that the phone be returned to her, which was done.

“The brother of the student, who happens to be an old student of the school, later came to the school to harass the vice principal and threatened to deal with him.

“After school hours, the boys were seen loitering in the street, and the proprietor was informed, who told Rotifa to go to the police station to lodge a complaint. He went, and two policemen took him in their van to look for the boys, probably for arrest. They couldn’t get them. As they were going back to the station, the boys waylaid the police van, stopped it, brought out Rotifa and beat him up. He was taken to the hospital for treatment.

“According to the principal of the school, he has been discharged from the hospital but did not go back to his house for fear of the boys coming back for him. Further investigations and efforts to get the culprit are in progress.”