Virginity Roll Call Scandal Draws Probe in Nigerian School

For the young female students of Government Comprehensive High School in Taabaa, Rivers State, the arrival of their community’s traditional ruler is usually met with the reverence reserved for royalty.

But last month, that reverence turned into resistance, leading to a statewide investigation and a fierce debate over the boundaries of tradition, charity, and bodily autonomy.

At the centre of the storm is His Royal Highness Mene M.S.K Nule, the traditional ruler of the Taabaa community in Khana Local Government Area.

The monarch stands accused of attempting to conduct physical virginity tests on female students, an allegation he vehemently denies, dismissing it as a smear campaign by detractors.

Yet, while he denies the physical testing, he openly admits to initiating an annual “virginity roll call” in the school’s classrooms.

The controversy began on September 17, 2026, when the school’s Vice-Principal, Bieh Gloria, penned a letter to the State Ministry of Education.

The letter, titled “Report Against Invasion, Plan To Take Over Of The School Farm, Damages, Assault And Dehumanisation Of Female Virgin Student,” detailed a troubling pattern.

According to the school, for the past seven years, the monarch and his council members had been entering the premises to select and collect data on female students under the guise of offering scholarships and exercise books.

This year, the students had had enough. Their peaceful protest prompted the Ministry of Education to launch an official investigation on October 22.

According to accounts from the students, the exercise began innocently when the monarch visited the school, distributing basic school supplies. But the atmosphere quickly shifted.

“He now said that anybody that is still a virgin, let us stand up, then we all stand up,” a student recounted.

“Then, he said that we should call our names and write our names on a sheet of paper.”

To incentivise compliance, a sum of N25,000 was reportedly offered to any student whose virginity could be confirmed by a matron.

For the monarch, however, the initiative was born out of a desire to protect, not harm.

Mene Nule describes himself as a devoted alumnus of the school, tracing his philanthropy back to 2004 when he was an undergraduate supplying chalk to his alma mater.

“I have been returning to that school as far back as 2004,” the monarch told journalists.

“I was still in the university when I started supplying that school with chalk from JSS 1 to SS 3, and from 2004 till date, I have never stopped.”

He explained that his interventions evolved over the years to include books and school bags. But in 2020, he received disturbing reports that some teachers were molesting female students. It was then, he says, that he introduced the roll call.

“I went to the school with my team, and the teachers always go with us,” he stated.

“We went from class to class and asked those who are virgins to stand up… I advised them to focus on their education and not indulge in early sexual activities.”

He claims the exercise has yielded meager results, only one student stood up in 2020, and by 2025, only four did, each rewarded with N20,000.

He insists he never took any student to a health center or a doctor for physical testing.

“If anybody can prove that… do I look like a bad man? Have I not done enough that I will carry somebody’s child to go and do a test, for what?” he asked, pointing to his own daughter as proof of his respect for young women.

“I have a daughter, and I have never done that to my daughter. All the things that I use are my voice to talk to her, to counsel her.”

However, for critics and the state authorities, good intentions do not override fundamental rights.

The Ministry of Education condemned the reported incident, noting that the allegations raise serious concerns about the dignity, privacy, and fundamental rights of schoolchildren.

The narrative has been further complicated by the students’ refusal to visit the matron, citing inconsistencies with the scholarship scheme in previous years.

The matron, who reportedly confirmed that physical tests have occurred, has since gone into hiding, allegedly fearing the traditional ruler’s influence.