…Calls for Urgent Child Protection Measures
By Gabriel Ewepu, Abuja
A civil society organisation, ActionAid Nigeria (AAN), has strongly condemned the alleged bullying incident at Igbinedion Education Centre, a private secondary school in Benin City, Edo State, describing it as a serious violation of children’s rights and a reflection of systemic failures in Nigeria’s education system.
In a statement on Wednesday, the Country Director of AAN, Dr. Andrew Mamedu, said the incident highlighted not only individual acts of abuse but also broader institutional weaknesses in child protection, monitoring, and accountability.
“Every child has the fundamental right to safety, dignity, and protection from all forms of violence, as enshrined in the Child Rights Act and reinforced by global standards. The events at Igbinedion Education Centre represent a failure of duty of care by multiple actors within the education and governance systems,” Mamedu said.
He noted that while the case at Igbinedion has drawn public attention, bullying, school-related gender-based violence, and abuse are far more widespread and underreported across Nigeria. Fear of retaliation, stigma, and weak reporting mechanisms often prevent incidents from being addressed, he added.
ActionAid Nigeria called on all relevant stakeholders—including the Federal and State Ministries of Education, the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), education boards, the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs, and the National Human Rights Commission—to take urgent, coordinated action to strengthen child protection systems.
The organisation urged schools to establish safe and confidential reporting channels, take swift action on incidents, and provide continuous mandatory training for teachers, guidance counsellors, and administrators on safeguarding, trauma-informed care, and the prevention of school-related gender-based violence. Schools failing to protect students should face sanctions, including possible closure.
Civil society groups are encouraged to support education systems through monitoring, capacity building, and advocacy, while law enforcement and the judiciary must ensure thorough investigation and timely prosecution of all cases of violence against children.
ActionAid further stressed the role of parents and guardians in fostering empathy, respect, and non-violence, while empowering children to safely report abuse without fear of retaliation.
“The widespread sharing of videos by the students themselves underscores the gaps in existing protection mechanisms, and social media has become a last-resort avenue for seeking help,” Mamedu added.
The organisation concluded that safeguarding children is a shared responsibility and urged immediate, proactive measures to prevent further abuse in schools nationwide.
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