Police Arrest, To Prosecute In Family Court Juveniles Involved In Bullying Incident At Igbinedion Education Centre

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All the students of the Igbinedion Education Centre (IEC) implicated in a bullying incident in the school as captured in a viral video recently have been arrested and are to be arraigned in a family court in accordance with extant laws guiding juvenile justice and child protection, the Edo State Police Command disclosed in a statement in Benin City on Saturday, March 21, 2026.

Giving an update on the chilling bullying saga which sparked public outrage, the police command, in the statement signed by Eno Ikoedem, an assistant superintendent of police, confirmed that following a thorough and painstaking investigation, all individuals directly connected to the incident have also been identified,
Recall that on Friday March 13, 2026, a viral video on social media captured two senior secondary school (SSS) 3 students of the IEC viciously pummelling a junior student, while another was recording the horrendous act. In a swift reaction by the management, they were all expelled from the school.

In the statement titled: “RE: Update On Viral Bullying Incident – All Students Arrested, To Be Charged To Family Court”, the police appealed to members of the public to remain calm, assuring that proactive steps were being taken to ensure that “justice is not only served but that measures are also emplaced to prevent a reoccurrence”.

Explaining the circumstances that led to the incident, the police spokesperson said, “Preliminary investigations revealed that the incident originated on Thursday 5/03/2026 when two female students, names withheld, both aged 14, had a disagreement with a fellow student. During the altercation, the said student reportedly uttered offensive words directed at their late father, specifically saying, “Ogun kill your papa.”

“Angered by the remark, the girls allegedly attacked the student after school hours. In the course of the assault, a parent, who had come to pick up her son, intervened but the two girls, still enraged, turned on the woman, physically confronting her and dragging her clothes. The school management subsequently intervened and expelled the girls for engaging in violent conduct.

“On the following day being Friday 06/03/2026, a retaliatory incident occurred. The male student, whose mother was earlier assaulted, attacked the victim in the viral video in what has been identified as a revenge assault, which was recorded and posted by one of the students. The victim being the brother of the girls that assaulted his mother”.

The Commissioner of Police has therefore ordered the immediate deployment and intensification of the Operation Safe Schools Initiative across secondary schools in Edo State, “with a mandate to identify the gap in supervision and leverage lessons learnt in this matter, to prevent a recurrence”.

Ikoedem said, “Additionally, the Police Campaign Against Cultism and Other Vices (POCACOV) has been strategically mobilised to engage students and school administrators through advocacy, sensitisation, and reorientation programmes”.

Urging parents, guardians, and school authorities to take greater responsibility in the moral upbringing and supervision of their children and wards, the Command, in the same vein, advised students to shun violence and report grievances through appropriate channels.

“The Edo State Police Command remains committed to maintaining law and order and safeguarding all residents, especially children”, the statement concluded.