By Emma Okereh
Miffed by the disturbing video of the brutal bullying of Namtira Bwala, a female student of Lead British International School, Gwarinpa, Abuja, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), has called for independent investigation as well as public hearing on bullying in the nation’s secondary schools.
Bwala suffered repeated slaps by fellow students over refusal to answer inappropriate questions from school relationship.
Reacting to the alarming incident, the Executive Secretary of the Commission, Dr. Tony Ojukwu, said he was shocked by the physical abuse meted out by a student to a fellow student and decried that such incident shouldn’t have happened in the first place if appropriate measures were put in place for a safe and conducive environment for learning.
He said that the alarming incident which has attracted widespread condemnation across the country is a matter of concern that borders on cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, respect for the dignity of the human person as well as learning in a safe and protected environment
He cited Section 34 (1) of the Nigeria Constitution which provides that “every Nigerian individual is entitled to respect for the dignity of his person and accordingly (a) No person shall be subjected to torture, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment”.
In a statement signed by the director, corporate affairs and external linkages of the commission, Obinna Nwakonye, said the Chief Human Rights Officer condemned the act and charged school proprietors to put measures in place to prevent re-occurrence of similar situations.
He also advised that CCTV cameras be installed in appropriate places, as well as a whistleblower system to report bullying and inappropriate conduct in schools, while emphasizing that discipline should be strictly maintained to avoid bullying and abuse of such nature.
He further called for thorough investigation to ascertain the root cause of such dastardly act in the name of seniority noting that the protection of students across board by school management should be made paramount to ensure that this never happens again.
The Human Rights Advocate further stated that “bullying has become common in schools and if not checked will discourage some students from attending schools, this may lead to mental health issues, low self-esteem, even suicide as the case may be”.
