‘Teacher not beaten to death over gambling’, says Oyo govt, NUT

The Oyo State Ministry of Education and the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Oyo State chapter, have dismissed reports alleging that a teacher in Ogbomoso was beaten to death by students, describing the viral claim as false and misleading.

Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Olusegun Olayiwola; Oyo State NUT Chairman, Raji Oladimeji; and the Principal of Soun High School, Ogbomoso, Mr. Ajayi Adeyinka, all addressed the issue separately on Monday, providing a detailed clarification of the events.

According to them, the narrative that the deceased teacher, Mr. Abiodun Adegoke, was assaulted by students is entirely untrue. They explained that the only incident involving the teacher occurred on May 28, 2025, when he apprehended four students gambling on the school premises.

The officials emphasized that Mr. Adegoke’s death on November 4, 2025, had no connection to that earlier disciplinary encounter, stressing that the viral report was a complete distortion of facts.

The Oyo State Government and the Education family in Oyo State commiserated with the family of the deceased, praying for the repose of his soul, while also warning members of the public to be wary of fake news.

Olayiwola, while speaking after a stakeholders’ meeting of the education family in the state, held at the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology’s Conference Room, said the ministry’s investigations from the school showed that the deceased was not beaten by the students.

He said though it was true that the late Mr. Adegoke caught four students gambling in school, he was not beaten by the students, but that he dislocated an arm while trying to beat one of the culprits.

He added that the teacher made efforts to treat the dislocated arm through local bone therapist and a private hospital, but it was later discovered that he had bone marrow cancer and that it was already at Stage 4.

He warned reporters and residents of the state to be wary of fake news, stating that the public needs to exercise caution with regard to unverified information.

Speaking earlier, Principal of Soun High School, Mr. Adeyinka, said the incident was wrongly reported, adding that Adegoke, a dedicated teacher, died after he had been down with bone marrow cancer, which was diagnosed late and not because he was beaten by students at the school.

Similarly, the NUT chairman, Oladimeji, decried the fake news, which he said was capable of scaring hardworking teachers, stating that the incident of May 28, 2025, was never reported to the union, because the teacher was not beaten by the students caught gambling.

He explained that the NUT got involved in Adegoke’s case when it had to raise funds for his treatment, noting that the NUT and other persons raised about N2 million for the teacher’s treatment and also visited him.

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