Miss Lillian Friday, a secondary school student attending Community Secondary School, Otuoke, in the Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa State has been stabbed in the right eye, by her classmate a suspected female cult member, Josephine.
The incident happened in the country home of former President Goodluck Jonathan on Thursday. Both pupils are in SSS 1.
Josephine reportedly persistently put pressure on Lillian to join a cult group which she insistently rejected.
Mr. Benson Agiobu, the victim’s uncle, stated that his niece was told by Josephine and her gang that if she didn’t join their group they would teach her a bitter lesson she wouldn’t forget.
Agiobu said Lillian met Josephine on the way and she insisted that she must join their group.
“It was when Lillian refused again that Josephine alerted other members of the group who were with her at the time. They held Lillian down while she was stabbed in the right eye with a sharp object by Josephine and they fled.’’
The victim is currently receiving treatment at an undisclosed hospital in the state.
A source, who prefers to remain anonymous stated that the damage done to Lillian’s right eye was so bad that she might be requiring surgery.
A human rights group on anti-cult activities in primary and secondary schools, Patriotism Advancement and Community Orientation Network (PACON), has condemned the incident.
The Convener, PACON, Aluzu Augustine, who said his group had since March 11, 2018 embarked on a campaign against cultism and drug abuse in Bayelsa, described the act as “barbaric and demonic.”
When contacted, the spokesperson for the police in the state, Bayelsa State Command, Mr. Asinim Butswat, said he had yet been properly briefed on the incident.