By Danjuma Amodu
A 22-year-old teacher at Brains Minds Nursery and Primary School, Ugbamaka-Igah, Olamaboro Local Government Area of Kogi State, Maryam Usman, has died after allegedly being assaulted multiple times by the father of one of her pupils and others. Conflicting accounts have emerged over what triggered the attack and the status of her burial.
The incident began on June 17, 2026, following an episode involving a pupil. Maryam’s family said she flogged the child for misconduct. A community member close to the family disputed this. According to the source, “The child climbed a cashew tree and fell from it. Upon seeing the injured child’s hand, the teacher sent the child home.” Both accounts agree that the pupil told his father he had been beaten and injured by the teacher.
The Kogi State Police Command said preliminary findings showed that on June 18, 2026, the pupil’s father, Abdullahi Ishaq, accompanied by two women, went to the school in Ugbamaka and assaulted Maryam for disciplining a pupil.
The family alleged a wider pattern of violence. They said on the evening of June 17, Ishaq, described as a member of the Chado family and elder brother of Malam Amin, went to Maryam’s residence with two others and assaulted her. Later that day, while she was on her way to the mosque, Ishaq’s wife and others allegedly blocked her, beat her, and stripped her naked in public.
On June 18, the family said three additional persons, a man identified as Akalama and two sisters from Ogbagebe Okpo, joined in and beat her until she lost consciousness. A community source added that it was “the wife of the man who attacked her in the morning at the mosque that mobilised her brothers and stepson and that caused the final damage.”
Maryam received initial treatment at a clinic in Ugbamaka on June 18 before being referred to Iko-Ojo Hospital in Okpo. Her condition deteriorated and she died at about 5:00 a.m. on June 25, 2026, according to her brother.
“We believe the repeated assaults contributed to her death and we want those responsible to be brought to justice,” a brother of the deceased said.
A family source said she has since been laid to rest according to Islamic rites.
The Kogi Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Saliu Oyiza Afusat, however, said “arrangements are ongoing to convey the corpse to the General Hospital, Ankpa, for medical examination and autopsy.” Police said operatives had visited the scene and the deceased’s residence for documentation, and that efforts were underway to arrest the suspects who fled before officers arrived. The command said the case would be transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department upon their arrest for a discreet and comprehensive investigation.
Community elder Drisu said Maryam had family ties with the pupil’s family and that several meetings had been held to resolve the matter. He said members of Maryam’s family, angered by her death, allegedly vandalised the pupil’s father’s residence.
The Igah Progressive Association, the Traditional Council of Chiefs of Igah Chiefdom, and the 22nd Ojibo of Igah, Chief Onuche Shuaibu, have condemned the assault. In a statement signed by IPA General Secretary Comrade Ayebe Daniel, the leaders called for a “thorough, impartial, and speedy investigation” and insisted that “justice must take its full course.”
