The Federal Government of Nigeria has ordered a massive nationwide crackdown on school bullying, empowering school authorities to enforce heavy sanctions, including immediate suspension, permanent expulsion, and public identification, against offenders.
The harsh intervention comes as part of a renewed push by the Federal Ministry of Education and the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) to enforce the National Policy on Anti-Bullying and guarantee a secure environment across all secondary and tertiary institutions.
Directives of the New disciplinary policy for severe penalties recommend that perpetrators will face indefinite suspensions or total expulsion depending on severity.
While government threatened to publicly name student offenders to serve as a deterrent, schools that fail to strictly implement the anti-bullying measures also face steep fines or the withdrawal of their operating licenses.
A dedicated hotline, an official WhatsApp channel, and online platforms have been deployed for students to report abuse anonymously.
In addition, the policy legally mandated school administrators to set up anti-bullying committees and provide immediate counseling and rehabilitation services for victims.
This decisive strategy scales up measures previously taken, such as the direct suspension of 13 students involved in a high-profile gang assault video at the Federal Government College (FGC), Enugu.
Stakeholders are currently holding sensitization workshops nationwide to educate students on their rights and encourage them to break the silence on campus intimidation.
