THE family of Namtira Bwala, a student of Lead British International School, Abuja, who her schoolmates bullied in a video that went viral recently, has sued the institution, demanding N500 million.
This was disclosed in a statement by the founding partner of the law firm handling the case, Marvin Omorogbe, on Monday, May 13.
The suit demanded that the sum be paid as general damages for negligence and a breach of duty of care which, otherwise, would have prevented the assault and trauma suffered by the student.
The claimant also requested a public apology from the school to be published in two national newspapers.
“Our client hopes that this lawsuit will bring about drastic changes and adequate measures to prevent a reoccurrence of similar issues in the school,” the statement read in part.
In April 2024, videos showing some of the school students bullying their colleagues went viral.
Bwala was recorded being slapped repeatedly by other students in the video, which generated public outrage.
Some social media users alleged that bullying has been one of the biggest issues in the school.
The school was shut for three days following the incident and the school announced that it had commenced investigations into the videos.
A few days after the incident, Bwala threatened legal action against the school via a letter from her legal representatives, if it failed to punish her bullies.
“Sequel to the preceding, we have our client’s instruction to demand the immediate investigation and the pronouncement of the stiffest possible sanctions in the student’s rule book on Ms Maryam Hassan, Miss Faliya and nine other students who have formed a cult of bullies in Lead British International School, Gwarimpa, Abuja.
“Please note that if the school fails to sanction the student bullies within 48 hours of the receipt of this letter, we have our client’s further instruction to seek an immediate and severe legal redress against Lead British International School, Gwarimpa, without further recourse to you,” the letter read.
Ijeoma Opara is a journalist with The ICIR. Reach her via [email protected] or @ije_le on Twitter.