The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has officially confirmed the temporary closure of Lead British International School, Abuja, following a viral video that confirmed that a student was bullied by her peers, News About Nigeria reports.
The incident came to light on Monday night when a user identified as @mooyeeeeeee shared a distressing video alongside a plea for justice.
The video showed a student, identified as Namtira Bwala, being physically assaulted by her classmates within the school premises.
In one of the videos shared, Bwala was subjected to 18 slaps by another female student while repeatedly being asked, “Who broke my heart?” Another clip showed her being beaten in one of the school’s empty halls.
The post quickly gained traction, amassing nearly 3000 comments and garnering 5 million impressions as concerned netizens condemned the act and demanded action from the school authorities.
The decision to shut down the school for three days was announced by a staff member in response to the visit of the Minister for Women Affairs, Uju Kenedy-Ohanenye, to the school on Tuesday.
In confirmation of the closure, Kabiru Musa, the Public Relations Officer of the FCT Education Secretariat, confirmed that the school had indeed been temporarily shuttered by the Honourable Minister for Women Affairs.
In response to inquiries, Musa said, “Yes it was shut down by the Honourable Minister of Women Affairs for 3 days.”
Meanwhile, the student caught bullying her fellow student has tendered an apology.
Her apology is contained in a video on social media where she expressed her “sincere apologies” to the student she bullied and Nigerians as a whole, adding that she wished she never did it.
The student further pleaded with Nigerians to forgive her because she did not know what had come over her.
