The police command in Edo State said it has identified all individuals directly connected to the school bullying incident and has arrested those implicated.

In a statement on Saturday by its spokeswoman, Eno Ikoedem, the command disclosed that all implicated persons would be charged to the state’s Family Court in line with extant laws.

“The Edo State Police Command wishes to update the general public on the viral bullying incident which has generated widespread concern and public reactions across the state,” the statement said.

“Following a thorough and painstaking investigation, the Command confirms that all individuals directly connected to the incident have been identified, while those implicated have been apprehended and are being charged to the Family Court in accordance with extant laws guiding juvenile justice and child protection,” it added.

The police spokesperson said preliminary investigations revealed that the incident originally began on Thursday, March 5, and involved two 14-year-old female students, who had a disagreement with another colleague.

During the disagreement, the colleague reportedly abused the late father of the two girls, 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,” Ms Ikoedem stated.

The police spokesperson said the school management subsequently intervened and expelled the girls over the misconduct.

She added that the viral school bullying incident occurred a day after the girls’ suspension and involved a male student, whose mother had been earlier attacked by the girls.

Ms Ikoedem said the male student attacked the victim in the viral video as an intended revenge assault.

“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,” Ms Ikoedem said.

To forestall a recurrence of the incident, the state’s Commissioner of Police, Monday Agbonika, directed the immediate deployment and intensification of the Operation Safe Schools Initiative across secondary schools in the state.

The command said the initiative would help identify gaps in supervision and leverage lessons learned from the viral incident.

It added that another initiative, the Police Campaign Against Cultism and Other Vices (POCACOV), has also been strategically mobilised to engage students and school administrators through advocacy and sensitisation training.

Encouraging students to shun violence and appropriately report grievances, the command tasked parents, guardians, and school authorities to take greater responsibility in the moral upbringing and supervision of their children and wards.