Recently, the popular Lead British International School in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, was temporary shut down by education authorities over alleged bullying.
The decision to temporarily shut down the school came in the wake of public outrage sparked by circulating videos which captured a female student being subjected to physical and emotional abuse by her peers.
The disturbing footage depicted the victim being repeatedly slapped by another female student in what appeared to be an interrogation session.
The incident prompted widespread condemnation and calls for swift action to address the issue of bullying within the school community.
Meanwhile, the bullied student, in her letter, threatened to take legal action against the school should the management not take steps against the 11 student she identified in the incident.
In our opinion, the widespread reaction to the video has highlighted the need to examine the extent of bullying in Nigerian schools.
So many examples suffice; in December 2021, a video of a 12-year-old boy writhing in pain surfaced on the internet and sparked outrage.
The boy, identified as Sylvester Oromoni, a pupil of Dowen College, a boarding secondary school in Lagos, died a few days after the footage went viral.
His father claimed he’d sustained internal injuries after he was beaten by fellow students who bullied and tried to get him to join a cult.
The school management, however, claimed he was never a victim of bullying and was injured during a football match. What followed was a legal back and forth between the school management and parents who insisted that their son opened up to them about being bullied before he died.
In April 2024, a Lagos coroner, Mikhail Kadiri, ruled that Oromoni suffered “avoidable excruciating pain” due to parental and medical negligence.
He also exonerated the school of negligence and the students accused of bullying the deceased.
In December 2020, 11-year-old Don Davis gained public’s attention and sympathy after a video his mum made about his poor state made it to the internet.
In the video Davis’ mum, Mrs Deborah Okezie, lamented about her son’s health and the mistreatment he suffered from senior students in his school, Deeper Life High School, Uyo.
Shortly after the case became public, the Deeper Life Bible Church, owners of the school responded to Mrs Okezie’s claims and issued a statement noting investigations into the matter.
In June 2021, 14- year -old Karen Happuch Akpagher, a boarding student at Premiere Academy in Abuja died from complications after she was allegedly sexually molested.
Remnants of a condom were found in her private part, resulting in sepsis.
More than two years later, the case is still in court, while protests have continued under the Justice for Karen hashtag.
In October 2021, Nollywood actress Mercy Johnson-Okojie cried out and claimed her 8-year-old daughter, Purity, a student of Chrisland School:, Lagos, was being bullied by a teacher in school.
The actress wrote on Instagram that the teacher tells her daughter to her face that she didn’t like her mother, that celebrity kids were badly behaved .
In response to Okojie’s call-out, the school management issued a statement, noting an investigation into the alleged case of bullying.
The actress, however, did not share further updates on the matter.
According to research, about 246 million children and adolescents globally are reported to experience bullying yearly and in Africa, some studies have reported varying rates of 25 per cent, 44.5 per cent and 62.8 per cent, while in Nigeria, the rate reported has been between 33.1 per cent -85 per cent.
World over, secondary school students are bullied by peers with resultant harmful effects such as poor school results, mental health problems, vicious exhibition of bad behaviour, among others.
As a newspaper, the high prevalence of school bullying targeting this population is not only worrisome but of public health concern.
The risk factors and dangers associated with bullying should be identified, such as untimely death via suicide, personality disorders such as conduct disorders, and antisocial personality traits.
Some might have problems with their self-esteem (low and high self-esteem), and some might have avoidant personality traits.
Parents, civil society organisations, parents-teacher associations, human rights advocates and others have called on the governments, demanding stricter enforcement of school policies directed against bullying.
We are worried that school bullying is becoming a threat that no school or parents should afford to dismiss or treat with levity.
Although many demographic variables associated with bullying have been examined, there has been no study in Nigeria, which has looked into comparison between government and Private/Mission schools.
Section 11.7 of the National Policy on Safety, Security, and Violence-free School, with implementation guidelines that came into force in August 2021, states that the school management must inform the relevant authorities when a learner is threatened in any form and need of protection.
According to the policy, in pursuit of the violent free-school environment, efforts shall be made by school management to ensure that no form of violence or abuse is tolerated in school, either among staff or learners.
Anti-bullying laws are policies created to prevent bullying and to protect students and encourage them to seek assistance if they are being bullied.
Unfortunately though, this is not being implemented even as the constitution protects every citizen’s freedom from assault or any conduct that may injure or pose a threat to life.
While this newspaper recognises the role schools play in ensuring the well-being and safety of children, especially as children spend a significant time of their day in school, the school authorities should take very serious action against any student found engaging in violence against fellow students.
The various laws of our country, the criminal code of the various states, and the criminal procedure of states are against anybody who imposes fear or assault, irrespective of whether not they are students.
Curbing bullying requires a wholistic approach from all concerned, especially the parents who have the responsibility of nurturing their children and wards and for the governments to put mechanism in place to ensure that Nigerian schools are free of violence.
Parents should get closer to their children so that they can open up when they experience bullying and they should also be role models for their children because, sometimes, this bullying doesn’t start at school; it often starts at home.
In pursuit of the violent free-school environment, efforts should be made by school management to ensure that no form of violence or abuse is tolerated in school, either among staff or learners.
