On Wednesday morning, a classroom demonstration on banditry was misinterpreted as a real attack, causing a stampede among students, professors, and locals at Ijaiye Ojokoro Junior College in the Ojokoro neighborhood of Lagos. This caused confusion and panic.
During the weekly National Awareness Day event celebrated in schools around the state, the incident took place at Tigbetigbe Street in the Ojokoro neighborhood of Lagos.
Banditry was reportedly the focus of the day’s awareness session.
A teacher allegedly dressed up like a bandit to demonstrate to students the appearance and strategies of criminal organizations in an attempt to make the lecture more useful and interesting.
But when the teacher got to the school assembly field, the activity took an unexpected turn.
According to an eyewitness, pupils panicked as soon as they saw the teacher in the costume because they thought a real bandit had broken into the school.
Confusion broke out as soon as the teacher got out of his car and walked toward the assembly area. The witness claimed that the pupils started fleeing in all directions because they believed he was a real bandit.
Students at three other schools in the same educational complex were also affected by the panic, which swiftly extended outside the institution.
“Students from nearby schools heard individuals yelling, ‘Bandits! “Bandits!” and ran away as well. The eyewitness continued, “The entire school environment, including the surrounding streets, became chaotic as some teachers joined in the rush to safety.”
After learning of an alleged attack, concerned parents and guardians hurried to the schools to evacuate their kids.
Rumors of a violent invasion quickly spread, according to another homeowner who saw the incident.
“I noticed students running wildly while out for my morning stroll. They told me that bandits had broken into their school and were murdering people when I asked what was going on.
The resident went to the school to confirm the claims after becoming alarmed.
The witness continued, “When I arrived, I met one of the principals, who explained that the panic was caused by a teacher trying to dramatize the awareness topic on banditry.”
Joshua Ekong, a local citizen, also attested to the fact that the miscommunication created a great deal of fear among locals and seriously disrupted the community before the real situation was discovered.
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