For alleged negligence and failure of a duty of care to 14-year-old boarding student, Miss Keren-Happuch Aondodoo Akpagher, resulting in her rape and eventual death, her mother, Mrs Vivien Vihimga Akpagher, has dragged Premiere Academy, Lugbe, Abuja to court.
Included in the suit are the school’s owners, including former Managing Director of Skye Bank, Mr Akinsola Akifemiwa, before an Abuja High Court, demanding over N10 billion as damages.
Keren-Happuch died on the 22nd of June 2021 after developing sepsis as a result of the infection caused by the condom left inside her by her rapist, which compromised her immunity, spiked her blood sugar resulting in hyperglycaemia.
Speaking at a press conference organised in Abuja on Monday, Mrs Akpagher said she brought the suit against Premiere Academy Ltd, Dr Omotayo Akinfemiwa, Chief M.K Osuma, AAGMR Ltd (represented by Akinsola Akinfemiwa), Premiere Eye Center Ltd ( represented by Akinsola Akinfemiwa), Mr Christopher Akinsowon, Mrs Grace Salami and Nurse Lois Bung as 1st to 8th defendants.
In the instant suit, she has also prayed the court for “an order restraining the defendants by themselves, their agents and privies from threatening the plaintiff and her allies in respect of this suit, during and after the trial.”
The plaintiff is praying the court for: “A declaration that the negligence of the defendants caused the plaintiff’s daughter (Keren –Happuch Aondodoo Akpagher)’s death on the 22nd day of June 2021.
“A declaration that the acts of the defendants, who owed the Duty of Care to Plaintiff’s daughter, were negligent and this led to her death as a result of rape, sexual abuse and molestation which happened under their care.
“A declaration that the acts of the defendants who instructed the 8th defendant to administer dexamethasone (a steroid) on Keren –Happuch Aondodoo Akpagher exacerbated her underlining illness: “diabetes” and this led to her death.
“A declaration that the defendants’ failure to apprehend the perpetrator or allow the due process of the law to be carried out on time in other to fish out the perpetrator who is within their vicinity have intentionally inflicted the plaintiff with emotional distress, mental distress and nervous breakdown.”
She, therefore, prays the court to award to her the sum of N10 billion damages against the defendants for the breach of duty of care and negligence which led to the death of Keren –Happuch Aondodoo Akpagher.
She is also asking for N10 million for emotional, mental, psychological and physical stress on the plaintiff, caused by the painful death of her daughter at the hands of the defendants who owed her duty of care as well as N10 million representing the cost of litigation.
In support of the reliefs sought by the plaintiff are a 61-paragraph statement of claims, wherein Mrs Akpagher painted a graphic picture of how she got a tip-off from Keren’s Housemother, Mrs Rita Abejide to resist attempts by the matron not to allow her to take her daughter away from the school, disclosing that the child was distraught and unable to walk on the 16th of June 2021 as she was in pain and had to be assisted to go to class.
She said despite her demand that the police retrieve CCTV footage of the 15th and 16th of June 2021, which she knows discloses how her daughter was sexually abused and the identity of her abuser, the defendants have chosen to obstruct justice by concealing the said footage.
She explained how Keren eventually became critically ill the following day after returning home and she was rushed to the hospital on Monday, 21st of June 2021 in a bad state and that was when it was discovered by the medical team at Queen’s Clinic that her daughter had been sexually abused.
The plaintiff said she will rely on the test results, and the hospital reports and records of Queens Clinic, Wuse Abuja, which prove that a condom was left inside of her late daughter and her urine contained dead spermatozoa.
