The Oyo State Ministry of Education and the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Oyo State chapter, have cleared the air on the alleged beating of a teacher to death in Ogbomoso by students, describing the viral news story as fake and a complete misrepresentation of facts.
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, who spoke separately, yesterday, gave detailed accounts of the incident.
The trio noted that the claim that the deceased teacher, Mr. Abiodun Adegoke, was beaten to death by some students was false and unfounded, stating that the incident in which he caught four students gambling within school premises happened on 28 May 2025, while the teacher died on 4 November 2025.
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 28 May 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.
