A large group of livid Nigerians have kept the internet buzzing over a trending video of a Nigerian secondary school student identified as Namtira Bwala, who has been faced with bullying from other school mates of hers.
This incident has made Nigerians angry, following the death of 12-year-old Sylvester Oromoni, a student of Dowen college, who fell victim of bullying and beating.
The trending video was posted by @mooyeeeeeee on X revealed that it happened at Lead British International School, Abuja.
“There’s a video I’m about to post. I need you guys to help me get justice for (sic). She was bullied in her school by her classmates at Lead British School, Abuja. Please make it go viral so she can get justice,” the user posted.
The bullied student appeared silent. One of her colleagues in the video looked ‘violent’ while others laughed and made fun of the bullied student.
What led to the act is still unknown, but it was in video as the bullied student was asked “who broke my heart” by her oppressor colleague.
As of the time of filing this report, the precise location of the school has not been ascertained, but conversations in the video indicates it is a school in the northern part of the country.
The bullied was slapped on her face severally as other colleagues looked and laughed.
The school, on its website says that it has a responsibility for nurturing knowledgeable, high achievers and 21st-century leaders but, other videos emerged on social media where students of the school were bullied.
A screenshot shared by a X user, another user, @sadiqGsadiq, alleged bullying as order of the day in the school.
“Bullying is one of the biggest issues in Lead British International School. And the worst thing is that they don’t even take serious action for it. The punishment they use is always packing trash like…does that make sense? Will packing trash stop me from bullying someone? It does not even make sense, to be honest”.
“The school is always trying to hide things like this. When things like this happen, and we tell our parents, our parents think we are being dramatic. That’s why we all need you to put back the post and bring awareness because it needs to stop”.
“When I told my mum, she said I was lying. It was when I showed her the video that she believed me,” the screenshot read.
Reacting, to the recent bullying video, an Instagram user, @yeancah_blingz said, “Reason I am going to enrol my kids in karate class.”
Another, @mrmoraks called for the need for parents to raise their (female) kids properly, saying “Raise your sons well, raise your sons well, no one is talking about raising a girl child well because what is this!!!
@revcomedian said, “But this girl wey dey bully person no fear oo. You dey slap person like this she no talk and fear no catch you”.
@hertheybcexclusivefashionworld called mothers to “please educate their kids about some self defense” while @theafrican_americangirl said, “And if she was my daughter, I will be in a school uniform the next day laying hands on every girl that touched my daughter. I would identify as a child that day!”
@iam_leksyd expressed that parents should tutor their kids to stand up for themselves rather than being bullied
“Either Male or Female, make sure your kids learn how to stand up for themselves… where I came from we were taught to fight bullies back even if they are older than us,” the user said.
@elfredaeko posted, “If you slap my child like this, just hide regardless of your age”
Reacting, in a statement issued on Tuesday, the Head of Abuja School, Abraham Ogunkambi disclosed that the school management is probing the matter, adding that the school will offer counselling services and disciplinary measures to the perpetrators to address their bad behaviour.
“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 with a view to providing support, including access to counselling services to help them cope with the emotional and psychological impact of the incident.
“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.
“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 carry interventions IRIS will also be implementing educational programmes and workshops for students, staff, and parents to raise awareness about bullying and its consequences.
