The FCT police say they are probing an alleged bullying involving a student of Beautiful Beginning Academy Abuja.

On 2 December, a video surfaced on social media appearing to show some senior students bullying a younger junior colleague.

The alleged victim, identified only as Imitiyas and said to be in SS2, was depicted as being subdued.

The video showed the senior final-year students ordering Imitiyas, who had his neck strung up with a chain, to lie on the floor.

Since going viral on social media, the footage has generated outrage and calls for a police investigation.

TheCable contacted Josephine Adeh, FCT police spokesperson, but she had yet to respond as of this report.

Adeh, who disclosed that the school is already being probed, told BBC that none of the family members of the alleged victim reported the matter to the police.

The school Principal Aaron Ipke, while addressing the press in Abuja on Tuesday, was quoted as hedging that the students involved were engaged in an act of “playful performance” misinterpreted as evidence of bullying.

He argued that the school has had an open-door policy that allows students to report any harassment concerns.

Ikpe claimed the students arranged for the clip to be recorded on a device provided by the school while other students in the hostel watched the performance.

“There was no bullying case here at BBA. It was a make-believe. We were in school at the time. And the way we run our school, we operate an open-door policy,” he was quoted as saying.

“Students, even from the nursery, come to the MD’s office, to the principal’s office, to express any concerns they might have. We don’t have that kind of bureaucracy. So, if there was any bullying at all, at least one student would have heard about it and reported it to us.

“It wasn’t a case of bullying. They staged a play. Interestingly, they did it in their hostel, and there were other students around watching.”

Ipke was further quoted as expressing shock at the allegation of bullying made by family members of the SS2 student.

He said the school had never recorded a case of bullying in its 14 years of existence.

“No such report was made until the sisters came on Monday to tell us there was a bullying case in the school. In 14 years of existence, we’ve never had a situation like this or a case of this nature,” the principal said.

The staff of Lagos State University (LASU) under the aegis of the joint action committee of academic and non-academic unions have declared an indefinite strike.

NAN reports that the staff are embarking on a strike over salary disparities between LASU and other universities in the state.

The unions’ other demands include payment of a 20 percent salary increase as promised by the governor during his election campaign and payment of the 20 percent and 35 percent agreement reached between the federal government and university workers.

The unions involved include the LASU chapters of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU), and the National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT).

Obafemi Sanni, the chairman of the NASU-LASU, said the genesis of the industrial action was the promised 20 percent salary increase made by Babajide Sanwo-Olu, governor of Lagos, during his electioneering campaign.

Obafemi said after the election, the governor only paid the civil servants at the government secretariat, neglecting the staff of the tertiary institutions.

“Even before Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education (AOCOED) and Lagos State Polytechnic (LASPOTECH) transmuted to universities, their staff were earning more than LASU staff.”

Obafemi added that when the administration came on board as new leaders, the unions wrote to the state government to look into the disparities.

“Also, the 20 percent and 35 percent agreement reached between the federal government and university workers.

“We set up a committee to look into it and sent all our requests to the government to harmonise salaries of all the academic institutions in the state.

“We had several meetings with the Lagos state ministry of tertiary education and the ministry of establishment and training.

“Also, the LASU management tried to step into the matter. The vice-chancellor has pleaded severally, but we cannot continue to sacrifice the welfare of our union members.”

Ibrahim Bakare, chairman of ASUU-LASU, said the unions are more interested in peace, adding that the action is an agitation for staff welfare.

Bakare said all unions in the institution decided to come together and collaborate to get to where they were today.

“We are being civil and not disrespecting the Senate of the university. We will remain calm for the government to address our demands and call us for a meeting,” he said.

The authorities in Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa states have warned private school proprietors against arbitrary fee hikes and non-compliance with educational regulations.

Many private schools across Nigeria have continued to jerk up their fees following the discontinuation of subsidies on fuel and the deregulation of the petroleum industry’s downstream sector.

NAN reports that Bulama Abiso, the chairman of the Coalition of Civil Society Organisations in Borno, has recently highlighted the need for stakeholder collaboration to address the resultant fee hikes among privately owned schools.

“We must work together to ensure that schools operate in a way that balances quality education with affordability. Arbitrary fee hikes undermine this balance and place unnecessary burdens on families,” Abiso said.

In Borno, the commissioner of education Lawan Wakilbe met with private school owners in Maiduguri.

He said unilateral hikes in school fees without following due process would not be tolerated.

Wakilbe said any hike needs to involve consultation with parents who are already struggling with current economic hardship.

“It is unacceptable for schools to impose fee increases without first consulting parent-teacher associations. Parents are key stakeholders in education, and their voices must be heard in decisions that affect their children’s schooling,” he said.

The commissioner emphasised the need for full compliance with the state’s education guidelines, particularly the ones regarding financial transparency and safety standards.

In Yobe, the commissioner for basic education Abba Idris said the fees charged by private primary and secondary schools in the state must not exceed N50,000 per student.

He said schools charging above N50,000 must merit the amount and have the approval of the state government.

The commissioner said any school found violating this “fee cap policy” would be sanctioned as “education in Yobe is a social service, not a commercial enterprise”.

In Adamawa, the education commissioner Garba Pella said private schools are major players in the development of education in the state and are carefully monitored to stop any form of abuse and exploitation.

He said the government has made it a policy that whenever there is a need for them to increase fees, they should write to the ministry for the government to be able to know the rationale behind the increase.

Down south, regulatory authorities in Anambra and Enugu say they have no legal power to interfere with the rates in private schools.

Ngozi Chuma-Udeh, the Anambra commissioner for education, said exorbitant fees are the sole business of private school owners.

Chuma-Udeh said for one’s child to attend any school, be it public or private school, depends on how much the person can afford.

“We have a school like the British College here, they are charging almost a million naira. Other private schools are charging N50,000 as school fees,” she said.

In Enugu, the education commissioner Ndubueze Mbah described the high fees charged by private schools as “parental choice”.

The commissioner said the state is working hard to leave a legacy of quality and affordable education to children in Enugu state.

He said parents can make choices of sending their children to study in any part of the world and pay any amount they want to pay.

“The ministry has no power over that but what we are doing is providing free universal basic education to all children in the state,” he added.