By Adaeze Iroha

Three male and a female teacher of the Chrisland School Lagos were on Tuesday docked in a Yaba Chief Magistrates’ court in Lagos for allegedly concealing a lewd tape of a student.

The police charged Oladotun Sotunde, 56; Elesho Tajudeen, 32; Rhoda Olanipekun; 45, and Ajigboye Hammed, 41 with two counts of conspiracy and attempt to pervert justice.

They, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge.

The Police officer in charge of the Legal Department at the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) Panti, Mrs Yetunde Cardoso appeared with Mr Augustine Nwabuisi for the prosecution.

Cardoso said that the defendants committed the offence on April 25, at Chrisland School, in Victoria Garden City, Idimu, Lagos.

She said that the defendants were asked to chaperone the students to Dubai for a world school games.

According to her, the students engaged in indecent acts while on the trip and a 10-year-old student made a tape which the teachers conspired to conceal.

She stated that the teachers allegedly obstructed the course of justice by hiding the indecent acts of the students’ video before it later went viral.

The offence, she said, contravene the provisions of 411 and 97 (1) (3) of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State, 2015 (Revised).

Section 97 provides seven years imprisonment for the offence of attempting to pervert justice while Section 411 provides two years for conspiracy.

Chief Magistrate Adeola Adedayo, admitted the defendants to bail in the sum of N300,000 each with three responsible sureties each in like sum.

She held that the sureties must submit copies of their National Identification Number (NIN), and their Lagos State Residents Registration Agency (LASRRA) card.

She further directed that one of the sureties must be a landowner, but all of them must be residing within the court’s jurisdiction and be gainfully employed with evidence of three years tax payment to the Lagos State Government.

Adebayo ruled that the case file be duplicated and sent to the Lagos State Directorate of Public Prosecution (DPP) for legal advice.

She adjourned the case until June 13 for mention.