Umar Goni,a Senior Secondary School 2 student, has been arrested by operatives of the Borno state Police Command for allegedly attempting to murder one of his junior colleagues.
Goni was said to have used a razor blade to slit the throat of Jibrin Sadi Ramadan, his younger colleague, after a minor disagreement.
Our correspondent gathered that the incident happened behind the hostel of a popular private school, El-Kanmi College of Islamic Theology in Maiduguri, Borno State capital, on Wednesday night.
A source said the victim, who is of about 12 years, was sent on an errand by his senior, but Ramadan didn’t go, and later on, the senior boy called him to a quiet place where he used razor blade to severely cut his neck.
The source added that the victim was found lying unconsciously in a pool of blood at the backyard of their hostel.
He was subsequently rushed to the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, and admitted to the Intensive Care Unit.
The victim, who is currently at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the hospital, is still in critical condition, according to the source.
A staff member of the school, who described the incident as unfortunate, lamented the attitude of some teachers towards the pupils because most of the boarding students are from rich and influential backgrounds.
He alleged that indiscipline is rife in the school due to “material things that staff get from parents of students”.
The suspect is said to be currently at the Homicide Section of the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department.
In a telephone interview with our correspondent, Nasiru Mato, an uncle of the victim, said, “From our own findings, one SS2 student known as Fairoz dragged our child behind their dormitory and used razor blade to cut his throat from different angles.
“Our son eventually fainted and the culprit ran away, thinking that the child was already dead… We received a distress call from the school management on Wednesday morning on the development and we rushed to Maiduguri Teaching hospital and found our child in a sorry state. At the moment, he is surviving on tracheostomy even as the doctors said it is difficult for him regain his voice after having some of his veins cut.
“We demand proper medical attention for the child, the school and law enforcement must also take necessary measures to investigate and prosecute the perpetrator.”
Mato also said the family is not satisfied with the way the school management is handling the matter.
He added that the school only told them that the culprit is under police custody but refused to speak much about his identity.
Another family member doesn’t want to be named said the school management has convinced the child’s step father who his their close ally not to take the matter up.
