PORT HARCOURT — The Rivers State Ministry of Education has opened an investigation into allegations that a traditional ruler forced female students of Government Comprehensive High School, Taabaa, in Khana Local Government Area, to undergo virginity checks.

In a petition dated 12 October, staff of the school accused the paramount ruler, HRH Mene M.S.K. Nule, of subjecting students to virginity tests over several years, entering the school and taking over its farm.

The monarch denied conducting any tests. He told Daily Trust that since 2020 he had held an annual gathering at which girls who say they are virgins are asked to stand, and that four girls who did so in 2025 each received N20,000.

The civil society group YEAC-Nigeria condemned the alleged practice and called for an independent inquiry. The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education, Dr Mina Tele Ikuru, confirmed that the state had begun investigating.