A human rights lawyer, Chetam Nwala, has accused the Rivers State Police Command of shielding suspects and obstructing justice in the criminal case surrounding the death of a two-year-old girl at Wisdom Gate School in Port Harcourt.
Gatekeepers News reports that the allegation was made on Tuesday, May 5, 2026, when the matter came up before Justice Monina Danagogo of the Rivers State High Court, but neither the police prosecution team nor representatives of the school were present in court.
Following their absence, Justice Danagogo adjourned the case to Tuesday, May 12, 2026.
Speaking outside the court, Nwala described the development as suspicious and questioned the commitment of the police to the prosecution of the case.
“We got wind that the matter was coming up in court today and we immediately rushed down to court hoping that the police who filed the matter would be in court with people from Wisdom Gate School,” he said.
“Unfortunately, when we got to court, we discovered that the police who filed the matter, along with the Wisdom Gate people, were not in court.”
The lawyer alleged that the repeated absence of key parties pointed to deliberate efforts to frustrate justice.
“This raises further questions as to the interest of the Nigerian Police in this matter and how they have continued to try to scuttle justice,” he said.
Nwala also expressed disappointment over what he described as broken assurances from the police.
“We are saddened by this particular action because we expected more from these Police officers, as they had given us some level of assurances and we relied on those assurances,” he added.
He further alleged that the social status of those involved may be affecting the handling of the investigation.
“You cannot expect that parents will lose their child and, when justice is supposed to take place, because these people are highly placed in society, they should be allowed to go scot-free for their own negligence while the Police protect them,” Nwala said.
Despite the setback, the lawyer insisted that those responsible must be held accountable.
“Justice must be served in this matter… Those whose actions led to the death of late Wynne Akekue should be brought to book. The police should stop shielding these people,” he said.
The case stems from the death of two-year-old Wynne Akekue, who died in March 2026 after a shelf allegedly fell on her and crushed her skull while she was sleeping at the Eligbolo campus of Wisdom Gate School.
Her parents have accused the school and some authorities of attempting to cover up the incident. Human rights groups have also called for a transparent investigation and justice for the deceased child.
