Confusion and panic broke out at a school in Lagos on Wednesday after a teacher’s attempt to dramatise a lesson on banditry was mistaken for a real attack, triggering fears of a kidnapping incident.
The incident occurred at Ijaiye Ojokoro Junior College, located on Tigbetigbe Street in the Ojokoro area of Lagos, during the weekly National Awareness Day programme observed across schools in the state.
According to reports, the topic for the day’s awareness session was banditry. In a bid to make the presentation more practical and engaging, a teacher reportedly dressed up as a bandit to demonstrate to students what armed criminals typically look like.
However, the exercise quickly took an unexpected turn when the teacher arrived at the school premises in costume.
Eyewitnesses said students immediately mistook the teacher for an actual bandit and began running in different directions while shouting warnings of an attack.
The panic rapidly spread beyond the school, as students from three other schools sharing the same complex also joined in the stampede after hearing cries of “Bandits! Bandits!”
Some teachers were reportedly caught up in the confusion and fled alongside the students, while the disturbance extended to surrounding streets, causing widespread alarm in the neighbourhood.
The incident also prompted anxious parents to rush to the school premises in an attempt to rescue their children after receiving reports that armed bandits had invaded the area.
One resident who witnessed the scene said he encountered groups of students running frantically and was told that bandits had stormed the school and were attacking people.
Upon arriving at the school to verify the claims, the resident said a school principal explained that the panic had been triggered by a teacher’s dramatization of the awareness topic rather than an actual security threat.
Another resident, Joshua Ekong, who lives near the school, confirmed that the incident caused significant anxiety and confusion among residents before the true situation became known.
Normalcy was later restored after school authorities clarified that the alleged attack was merely part of an awareness exercise and that no kidnapping or security breach had occurred.