fear as teachers, pupils find ‘grave’ in classroom.....SEE PHOTOS

Firstclass newsline witnessed pandemonium at the Iguodala Primary
School in the Uhunduhun Oredo Local Government Area of Edo State
after pupils stumbled on a newly 'grave' in one of their classrooms.
The incident was said to have happened shortly after the morning
assembly on Monday.
The school pupils and their teachers were said to have raised the
alarm and raced to the school gate on sighting the 'grave' which had
blood sprinkled on it.
It was gathered that the Head Teacher, Georginia Ilongwo, calmed
the pupils and ordered those in primary 1A, where the 'grave' was dug,
to move to another classroom.
Ilongwo, who later alerted the Esigie Police Division to the incident,
described it as "shocking."
She said, "After the pupils and teachers raised the alarm, people
around trooped into the school premises. I informed the Odionwere
community leaders, the Ministry of Education, the Nigeria Union of
Teachers and the Parent-Teacher Association. All of them advised that
we call the police.
"When policemen came, they said they would assess the scene today
(Tuesday). We were all surprised because since I started teaching
here, I have never experienced such a thing."
She added that many parents did not allow their children to attend
the school on Tuesday because of the incident.
The grave
When firstclass newsline visited the school, the 'grave' still looked
freshly dug. A pair of knickers and a T-shirt were seen on the floor
of the classroom.
Some policemen said they suspected that something or someone was
buried in the grave.
They added that they kept watch until some cemetery workers from the
council came at about 11.40am.
The men were, however, stopped from further digging of the 'grave' by
some health officials after they dug three feet into the ground.
The officials said there was no sign that a corpse had been buried at the site.
A Deputy Director in the Health and Environment Department of the
council, Mr. Sylvester Usoboh, said, "We have removed the earth that
was dug and got to the stronger part, an indication that no further
digging was done, and nothing was found.
"Maybe the police may investigate further; but we did not find anything."
The Divisional Police Officer, CSP Akeke Eni, also allayed the fear of
the community that the remains of an unknown person could have been
buried in the school.
He said, "It is an empty 'grave'. It was initially suspected to
contain something, but we have discovered that there is nothing
inside."
Some residents of the community, however, called on the government to
recontruct the school, which they said had become a hideout for
hoodlums for years.
Firstclassnewsline.net