Four students from Comboni Vocational Technical School have been apprehended by the Sogakofe District Police Command for allegedly damaging the main gate of Sogakope Senior High School (SOGASCO) in the South Tongu District of the Volta Region.
The incident is said to have taken place on Sunday, March 10, 2024, at around 1:00 AM. It was reported that the sliding glasses of the main entrance of SOGASCO were shattered, and mosquito nets in one of the classroom blocks were set on fire.
Newman Dziedzoave, the Headmaster of SOGASCO, stated that although the situation has calmed down, four students and four individuals from the community have been detained by the police in connection to the vandalism.
“Some arrests have been made this morning by the police and the NIB. So those who were actually behind the destruction, four of them have been picked, and others are on the run. So the four that have been picked are assisting the police with the investigation, together with four additional town boys who happened to be old students of Cambodia, which we suspect were hired to assist them. So the destruction is not only the gate, but one of the classroom blocks as well, “the headmaster confirmed to JoyNews.
He explained that the conflict between the two schools began when a student from SOGASCO was admitted to Comboni Hospital a few weeks prior.
“About two weeks ago, a student of ours fell sick, and then one of the officers in the cadet took him to Comboni Hospital. At the hospital, he came out to buy something at the hospital gate for his colleague who was inside the yard. So when he came out, three Comboni students accosted him that he should tuck in his shirt.”
Mr. Dziedzoave explained that the SOGASCO student declined, stating that he was also a senior at another school and that they did not have the authority to instruct him to tuck in at their school. However, they allegedly threatened to assault him if he did not comply with their demands. Fearing for his safety, he decided to comply and knelt down.
According to Mr Dziedzoave, “whilst kneeling, they took videos of him then later, these videos that they took of him, they posted it on their platform that they have conquered SOGASCO.”
This, he said, infuriated the entire student body of SOGASCO. “So on 6th March 2024, when they came for the independence anniversary parade in our school, our students also asked them, those who put their shirts on, they asked them to tuck in, and they also refused.”
The headmaster indicated that was the last straw that broke the camel’s back.
“So that brought about an exchange. They were throwing stones here and there. And so one of the drivers from Convotech got injured during the process.”
Mr Dziedzoave explained further that even though they could not establish who hit the driver with the stone, they decided to send him to the hospital for medical attention.
However, when the driver was discharged, they took him to the Campus of Comboni only for him to be attacked again by the students.
“So on Thursday, the driver was discharged. We sent him to his campus. When they realized that we were coming from SOGASCO, they started throwing stones at the vehicle, which we reported to the police and their principal. And this morning, this is what they have done to us again.”
A District Security Council (DISEC) meeting is scheduled on Monday, March 11, 2024, to address the issue.