Bullying: Lead British school to ‘discipline’ students in viral videos

Viral videos of a student of Lead British International School, Abuja, being bullied by another student have raised concerns among Nigerians who are seeking justice for victims.

In one of the videos, a student identified as Namtira Bwala was subjected to bullying by a schoolmate identified as Maryam Hassan and a yet-to-be-identified female student. Hassan can be seen slapping Bwala about 15 times.

In a separate video, Hassan was seen slapping Bwala several times and asked “Who broke my heart?”. In another instance, she asked Namitra, “What is the boy’s name?”.

Pls repost 🙏#justiceformaryam. https://t.co/JUt0Wr8mbD pic.twitter.com/K8pRkH5dxo

— Pinkypromi3s🥀🦋 (@mooyeeeeeee) April 22, 2024

Lead British International School on Tuesday condemned the incidents and appealed to the public to stop sharing the videos on social media.

The school said it had initiated a process to support the victim and discipline the culprits.

“We have also immediately initiated an investigation, appointing a dedicated team to conduct a thorough inquiry into the matter,” Abraham Ogunkanmbi, head of school, Abuja, said in a statement.

Adekanmbi said the team has been gathering information, including reviewing video footage and interviewing witnesses, to understand the full scope of the incident and identify the immediate and remote causes.

Nigerians on social media are seeking justice for Namtira. On X, #JusticeForNamtira has been trending for the past 15 hours.

Some social media users are calling on Nigerian authorities to clamp down on the school to serve as a deterrent for other schools to impose stiff anti-bullying policies among students.

Adekanmbi said a Lead British International School team will be working with the perpetrators and their families to offer counselling and disciplinary measures to address their behaviour which has no place in society.

“In line with our commitment to preventing bullying and ensuring a safe school environment, we will be reviewing and updating our extant Anti-Bullying Policies and procedures to determine areas requiring improvement, with a focus on prevention and early intervention,” Adekanmbi said.

“LBIS will also be implementing educational programmes and workshops for students, staff, and parents to raise awareness about bullying and its consequences.”

He urged anyone with additional information about bullying incidents to come forward and report them to the school administration.