The Senate has urged the police to investigate the circumstances leading to the death of a toddler, David Udo, in a creche at a nursery school in Aba, Abia.
This followed the adoption of a motion on the “urgent need to mandate schools to locate their creche and nursery classes on the ground floors of their high-rise buildings and implement safety protocols, by Adebule Oluranti (APC-Lagos) on Monday in Abuja.
Presenting the motion, Oluranti said that Udo died on October 24 after failing to enter a building at the Emerald International School in Aba, Abia.
She said that the incident brought to the fore the issue of safety in schools, particularly for babies and toddlers in creche and nursery schools in Nigeria.
“The ultimate is for investigations to cause state policy direction that will permanently prevent the recurrence of these heinous accidents,” she said.
She expressed concern that state policies or school operators and managers were expected to display duty of care and ensure that babies and toddlers under their care were properly monitored and prevented from falling off high-rise buildings on their premises.
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She said that the case of Udo was pathetic and heart-breaking and required the Senate to critically look into the safety issues and protocols in schools across the country, including school building and facility design and arrangement.
Victor Umeh (LP-Anambra) said the death of the toddler had exposed negligence in the systems by relevant authorities.
“What we are suffering in this country is lack of control and design approval.
“We cannot build a house that will not pass building approval, building of schools must pass through the approval.”
Umeh commended the sponsor of the motion, describing her as a nationalist, though from Lagos state, but sponsored a motion of human interest that occurred in Abia.
Sen Abba Moro (PDP-Benue) also called for the proper design of school structures.
