Minister of Women Affairs, Ms Uju Kennedy Ohanenye, on Tuesday narrated how his visit to the Lead British International School, Abuja led to the shut down of academic activities over allegations of bullying.
In a post on his X handle @BarrUjuKennedy, the Minister said: “As a mother and Women Affairs Minister under whose mandate it is to protect and promote the interest and welfare of Nigerian Women and Children,I was extremely shocked to read from the social media, a viral video which depicted an unacceptable case of bully which took place at the Lead British International School in Abuja yesterday.
“On getting to the school earlier today, I was also amazed to see many parents within the premises who were equally bothered by the same incident but I was deeply worried to find that bully has been the order of the day in the school as some parents complained that their children had passed through similar experiences. Disturbed by this trend, I engaged the Chairman of the Parents’ Teachers Association, the Principal and other parents to work out modalities towards addressing the issue.
“It was resolved that as investigation is still on the matter, the school will be shut down for three days while other measures will be put in the place by the school authority to ensure effective surveillance, monitoring of the students and possible sanctions for subsequent acts of bully or any other misconduct by any student.
“On a general note, parents should be vigilant and closely monitor the conduct of their children in order detect early signs of juvenile delinquency and take appropriate actions. School authorities should equally put measures in place for conducive learning environment and experience for all children.”
Meanwhile, the management of Lead British International School, Abuja has shut down the institution over the bullying incident that went viral on social media.
An X user, @mooyeeeeeee, posted two videos where the victim she identified as Maryam Hassan was repeatedly slapped by another female student.
The video generated thousands of comments by netizens who called on the school authorities to investigate the matter.
At a meeting on Tuesday, the school authorities announced a 3-day closure to enable them probe deeply into the matter.
A top member of staff said the decision to shut down the school temporarily was in the interest of all parties involved.
Tempers had reportedly flared at the meeting when a parent walked up to the student who bullied her colleague and gave her a slap.
The student, who has been severely criticised, was seen walking into the premises accompanied by elderly males.
A lady identified as one of the parents walked up to the student, asking her, “She is proud of what she did. You are proud of what you did! You are proud right? Someone’s child; innocent child, you beat her, did you give birth to her? I am asking you, did you give birth to her?”
The student was trying to walk away so as to avoid confrontation but the angry parent shoved her, saying: “I’m asking you: did you give birth to her?” The student muttered some incoherent words and the angry parent responded with a slap, before other elderly person around moved in to douse tension.
The Lead British International School had earlier said it has launched investigation into the matter.
In a statement issued earlier on Monday, it said the counselling unit of the school is helping the victimised student overcome the emotional and psychological impact.
The statement read, “We are committed to providing a safe and supportive learning environment for all our students. Hence, upon learning of the incident, we initiated the process of reaching out to the victim and family with a view to providing support, including access to counselling services to help them cope with the emotional and psychological impact of the incident.
“Additionally, we will be working with the perpetrators and their families, offering counselling and disciplinary measures to address their behaviour which has no place in society.
“We have also immediately initiated an investigation, appointing a dedicated team to conduct a thorough inquiry into the matter. 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.”