Brickhall school mourns, explains death of pupil

The Brickhall School, Abuja has mourned the memory of its late four-year-old pupil, Miguel Ovoke who choked on a piece of meat offal in the home-packaged meal he ate during school hours.

Lamenting the death of the pupil, the school said it was greatly saddened that the life of the pupil could not be saved despite the timely response of its trained nurse and the eventual decision to rush him to a hospital.

While noting the decision to mourn the late pupil by closing the school for one week, the school respectfully urged everyone connected to the tragedy to respect Miguel’s memory with dignity and peace while allowing medical professionals and law enforcement agencies to conclude with the autopsy.

The school said:

It is with profound sorrow and deepest sympathy that we at Brickhall School, Management and the Parents Teacher’s Forum express our heartfelt condolences to the family of our dearly beloved pupil, Miguel Ovoke.

We are devastated to report that Miguel tragically passed away on April 24, 2024, following a sad incident where he choked on a piece of meat offal from his meal brought from home, despite the immediate and expert care provided by our dedicated staff and certified school nurse.

In response to this heart-wrenching event, we convened an urgent meeting with our school community on the day of the incident.

Out of respect for Miguel’s memory and to honor his bright spirit, we suspended classes for over a week, allowing our community time to mourn and reflect on this profound loss.

We have cooperated fully with the relevant authorities to ensure a thorough and compassionate resolution for everyone affected, especially Miguel’s grieving family.

The leadership of both the school and the Parents Teacher’s Forum has personally visited Miguel’s family to offer our support and condolences during this indescribably difficult time. We stand with them in their grief and extend our support to all who loved Miguel—his friends, classmates, and our entire community.

As our school resumes, particularly for students preparing for their Senior and Junior School Certificate examinations, we reaffirm our commitment to the well-being and education of all our students.

We have continued to work closely with medical professionals, law enforcement, and Miguel’s family to clarify the circumstances surrounding this tragedy.

In these efforts, we strive for transparency and sensitivity, mindful that the narrative shared in public may not always capture the complexity of such a deeply personal and painful moment.

As a school, we consider this a most tragic incident and continue to take steps to seek resolution.

However, we want to firmly reiterate the following:

1. Our duty of care has been efficient, and we have never recorded an incident of this magnitude.

2. Our staff are trained on emergency procedures and first aid.

3. Our licensed school nurse followed laid down procedures for handling such emergencies.

The loss of Miguel Ovoke, a cherished member of the Brickhall School family, fills us with profound sadness.

We extend our deepest condolences to his family and assure them—and all who grieve alongside them—of our unwavering support and heartfelt empathy.

We respectfully urge everyone connected to this tragedy to honor Miguel’s memory with dignity and peace, while we allow the medical and law enforcement professionals to ascertain possible cause of death, as we continue identifying and engaging with the family.

We will continue to strive towards maintaining transparency with our school community.