Police in Lagos have arraigned four Chrisland Schools teachers before a Yaba Chief Magistrates’ Court for allegedly concealing a sex tape involving one of its students.
The four teachers Oladotun Sotunde, 56; Elesho Tajudeen, 32; Rhoda Olanipekun, 45; and Ajigboye Hammed, 41, were on Tuesday slammed with a two-count charge of conspiracy and attempt to pervert justice.
But the teachers pleaded not guilty to the charge.
Prosecution counsel, Yetunde Cardoso, who is also the police officer in charge of the Legal Department at the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Panti, Yaba, told the court that the defendants committed the offence on April 25, at Chrisland School, in Victoria Garden City, Idimu, Lagos.
The prosecutor said the defendants committed the offence when they went with the students to Dubai for a world school game.
She told the court that while on the Dubai trip, the students engaged in indecent sexual acts, which a 10-year-old student recorded on video, but which the teachers allegedly conspired to conceal.
The prosecutor further said the teachers allegedly obstructed the course of justice by concealing the indecent acts of the students recorded on video and later went viral.
She said the offence contravened Sections 411 and 97 (1) (3) of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State, 2015 (revised), which provides a seven-year jail term for the offence of attempting to pervert justice. Section 411, she added provides two years imprisonment for conspiracy.
Chief Magistrate Adeola Adedayo admitted the defendants to bail in the sum of N300,000 each with three sureties each in like sum, who must submit copies of their National Identification Number (NIN), and their Lagos State Residents Registration Agency (LASRRA) card.
The court also directed that one of the sureties must be a landowner, but all of whom must be residents living within the court’s jurisdiction. They must also be gainfully employed with evidence of three years of tax payment to the Lagos Government.
The magistrate further ruled that the case file be duplicated and sent to the Lagos Directorate of Public Prosecution (DPP) for legal advice.
The matter was adjourned till June 13 for mention.