By Abimbola Ogunnaike
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, 23 April, 2024,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, it was gathered, 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,22 April, 2024 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.”
