The proprietor of Calvary Crown Academy in Edo State, Paul Okungbowa, alongside three teachers, has been sentenced to prison by an Oredo Chief Magistrate’s Court in Benin for negligence and insulting a parent.
Presiding Magistrate Caroline Oghuma delivered the judgment on Thursday, sentencing Okungbowa to six months in prison or a fine of N100,000 for publicly calling Mrs. Blessing Aigbudu, a pupil’s mother, a prostitute.
The incident occurred on September 8, 2023, at the AIG Zone 5 headquarters in Benin and was described by Prosecutor Austin Enababor as conduct likely to cause a breach of peace.
Okungbowa, who was a former Young Progressive Party (YPP) candidate in the 2024 Edo governorship election, made the remarks in the presence of Mrs. Aigbudu’s husband and others.
Three teachers—Blessing Osarodion, Egharevba Esosa, and Isioma Nimen—were also convicted of negligence and abandonment related to two pupils under their care.
Osarodion and Esosa were sentenced to one year in prison each or a fine of N100,000 on two counts of negligence that led to a six-year-old pupil, Salma Aigbudu, sustaining a facial injury on September 29, 2021.
The prosecutor revealed that no first aid was provided after the injury occurred in the school’s waiting room during closing hours.
Nimen faced charges of unlawfully abandoning another pupil, Zuri Aigbudu, and received a three-month prison sentence or an option of a N50,000 fine.
Prosecutor Enababor noted that the teachers’ actions violated Sections 167(2), 412, 270, and 267 of the Criminal Laws of Edo State 2022.
