A routine awareness programme at a Lagos school on Wednesday morning descended into chaos after students mistook a teacher dressed as a bandit for an actual criminal, triggering panic across a large school complex.
The incident occurred at Ijaiye Ojokoro Junior College on Tigbetigbe Street in the Ojokoro area of Lagos during activities marking the state’s weekly National Awareness Day.
According to sources, the topic of the day’s programme was banditry. In an attempt to make the presentation more practical and engaging, a teacher reportedly dressed up as a bandit to demonstrate how such criminals operate.
However, the exercise quickly went wrong.
As the teacher stepped out of his vehicle and walked towards the assembly ground in costume, frightened students believed the school had come under attack and began running in different directions.
An eyewitness said the panic spread rapidly.
“The students thought a real bandit had entered the school. Immediately they started shouting and running. Students from the other schools within the same complex heard the commotion and also fled,” the witness said.
The school compound, which houses four schools, was soon thrown into confusion as students, teachers and other staff scrambled for safety.
Some teachers were also caught up in the panic, while residents and passersby were left wondering what was happening.
The alarm quickly spread beyond the school premises, with reports of a bandit attack circulating around the neighbourhood. Concerned parents rushed to the schools to pick up their children after hearing rumours that armed men had invaded the area.
A resident who witnessed the incident said he became alarmed after seeing large numbers of students running through nearby streets.
“I was on my morning walk when I saw students running and screaming. When I asked what was happening, they said bandits had invaded their school and were killing people,” he said.
The resident said he later visited the school to verify the reports and met one of the principals, who explained that the panic was caused by a teacher participating in the awareness exercise.
Another resident, Joshua Ekong, who lives close to the school, said the incident created widespread fear in the community and disrupted normal activities in the area.
Although no injuries were reported, the incident highlighted how sensitive security-related issues have become, especially amid growing concerns over kidnappings and bandit attacks across parts of the country.
