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 State.
The Eagle Online recalls Udo died on October 24 after falling from a building at Emerald International School.
The decision of the Senate to probe the death followed the adoption of a motion on: “Urgent need to mandate schools to locate their creche and nursery classes to ground floors of their high-rise buildings and implement safety protocols,” by Senator Oluranti Adebule (APC-Lagos) on Monday in Abuja.
Presenting the motion, Adebule said 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 aim is for investigations to cause state policy direction that will permanently prevent 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 in their premises.
She said that the case of Udo was pathetic and heart-breaking that required the Senate to critically look into the safety issues and protocols in schools across the country, including school building and facilities design and arrangement.
Senator Victor Umeh (LP-Anambra) said the death of the toddler had exposed negligence in the systems by relevant authorities.
Umeh said: “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 approval.”
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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 State.
Senator Abba Moro (PDP-Benue) also called for proper design of school structures.
The Senate thereafter observed a minute silence in honour of the deceased.
The Senate also urged the Federal and States Ministries of Education to enforce safety protocols in schools as enshrined in the National Policy on Safety, Security and Violence-free Schools and lasting implementation of guidelines.