Three children abandoned in boarding school for 8 years

What manner of parents would abandon three children in a boarding school for eight years? Three children, Seun Adepegba, 14, Titilola, 13 and Seyi, 10 have been in a boarding school, Solid Model College in Abule-Iroko in the Ado-Odo Ota Local Government Area of Ogun State for eight years and are yet to set their eyes on their parents since then.

The children.. Photo credit: PUNCH

According to a PUNCH Metro report, the kids ordeal began on September 24, 2007 when their father, Mr Segun Adepegba, who had been separated from their mother, enrolled them in the school because he could not afford to take care of them alone.

The proprietor of the school, Mr Samuel Ayegbusi, who said the school has spent over N7m on the children, spoke to the newspaper.

He said: “Mr. Adepegba told me his wife had just left him and that he could not afford to take care of them, being a jobless man. The children were very little. Seyi was two, while Titilola was five.

“Mr Adepegba had pleaded with me to accept them in the boarding school. Mr Adepegba’s sister promised to bear the cost of their upkeep. They paid an initial N150, 000 for the three children for the first term.”

But the proprietor said Adepegba reneged on his promise as after the first term, the school expected him to come and take his kids home for the holidays but he never showed up until four years later.

She said the parents’ families could not be reached and calls to Adepegba’s phones were not always answered.

“Whenever we called him and he realised who was talking on the phone, he would switch off his phones and for the next two weeks, the numbers would not be available” the proprietor said. “When the school contacted their father’s sisters, we were told that they had travelled out of the country.

“When we called one of them, we were told that they had sent money to Mr Adepegba to defray the children’s school fees and upkeep. But Mr. Adepegba has never come here to make any payment since the initial deposit he made in 2007.”

The proprietor said further:“The school is not even bothered by the cost of their upkeep. But anytime the school closed for holiday and parents come around to take their children home, Titilayo would fall into a sober mood and twice, she had run away from the hostel without informing anyone. It was a resident who stopped her and brought her back to the school"

The children each spoke to the newspaper:

Titilayo: “We do not know who our mother is. We grew up in Yaba, Lagos and all we remember is that there was a woman that washed our clothes and took care of us until we came here. We knew she was not our mother.”

Seyi: “Although I have a faint memory of my father, I will like to see him. If he comes today, I will ask him why he left us for so long.”

Seun: “I don’t care how long he has left us. I just want to see him. I really need to see him.”
Adepegba’s phone was switched off when calls were made to it.