By Prince Woke
The Azikiwe Police Division in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, on Tuesday evening, June 24, 2025, questioned staff of a private school located in Eagle Island over the alleged burning of a 14-year-old female student with a hot pressing iron by the school principal.
It was gathered that residents at Amazing Grace Junction in Eagle Island, Port Harcourt, were alarmed upon seeing the teenager with visible burn injuries and questioned her about how she sustained them. The girl alleged that her aunt had reported her to the school for allegedly stealing ₦30,000, an accusation she denied.
The situation escalated when the residents spotted the girl’s aunt walking by. They intercepted and held her as a crowd began to gather.
Speaking on the incident, Prince Wiro, a human rights advocate and National Coordinator of the Centre for Basic Rights Protection and Accountability Campaign, said he received a call from a concerned resident and immediately went to the scene with the intent of filing a report at the Eagle Island Police Post.
“Upon my arrival, police operatives were already at the scene along with a large, angry crowd attempting to assault the girl’s aunt. I appealed to them to hand over both the suspect and the child to the police, and I accompanied them to the station,” Wiro stated.
He added that at the police station, the girl revealed it was the school principal, one Priscilla, alongside another teacher, who used a hot pressing iron to burn her in an attempt to force a confession about the alleged theft. The girl claimed that the principal acted based on her aunt’s report.
According to Wiro, the school proprietor and proprietress were invited by the police and were still being questioned at the time he left the station.
“I condemn in strong terms the torture inflicted on the teenage girl and urge the police to conduct a thorough investigation. Anyone found culpable must be brought to justice. This is a clear case of man’s inhumanity to man,” he said.
As of the time of filing this report, the female principal in question had not been located.
