Renowned journalist and columnist, Ray Ekpu, has announced the news of the death of his wife, Uyai Ekpu.

The announcement was contained in a statement personally signed by Ekpu and made available to The PUNCH on Wednesday.

Mrs. Ekpu, aged 73, died on April 21, following a brief illness.

The statement read, “Uyai was a distinguished staff member of the Centre for Management Development (CMD), where she served until her retirement in 2011 as an Acting Director in the Management Education and Training Department.

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“Uyai was a scholar of remarkable achievements, holding a Bachelor of Arts degree in English, a Master’s degree in Library Science from the University of Ibadan, Oyo State, and a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the Enugu State University of Technology, Enugu State.

“Additionally, she earned diplomas from the Maastricht School of Management and the Ghana Institute of Management and Personnel Administration, Ghana.

“Uyai epitomised the virtues of family, community service, and inclusivity. Her life was characterised by a deep-rooted compassion and devotion to God.”

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“Uyai is survived by her husband, Ray Ekpu, and three children: Elu Ray Mbakwe, Mfoniso Ray Ekpu, and Edikan Ray Osho.

“She leaves behind six grandchildren, as well as her elder sister, Eneanwan Inyang, a retired educator, and a multitude of other relatives.”

Ekpu, who previously served as Editor-in-chief and Chief Executive Officer of Newswatch Magazine, said details regarding the funeral arrangements for his wife would be communicated in due course.

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Lead British International School Abuja, which has been in the eye of the storm over viral videos of bullying involving some of its students, has been shut for three days.

The shutdown order was issued on Tuesday by the Minister of Women Affairs, Uju Kennedy-Ohaneye.

The Public Relations Officer of the FCT Education Secretariat, Kabiru Musa, confirmed that the school had been shut down by the minister.

“Yes, it was shut down by the honourable Minister of Women Affairs for 3 days,” Musa in response to a Whatsapp message by one of The PUNCH correspondents.

A staff member of the school, whose name could not be ascertained as of press time, had earlier announced the shutdown of the school by the minister.

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The PUNCH reports that an X user, @moooyeeeee, had on Monday night posted two videos of a female student of the school being repeatedly slapped by another female classmate.

The user called for justice for the victim. Since they were posted, the videos have drawn the wrath of many users of the microblogging platform, who condemned the incident and called for the school authorities to investigate and punish the culprits.

A third video depicting a separate case of bullying at the Lead British International School, Abuja emerged on Tuesday.

In the new video posted on Tuesday, some male students in the school’s uniform are seen surrounding another boy who appears to be in casual attire.

A student slapped the boy, who was on his knees, and then some of the other boys who were gathered appealed to stop the ‘bully’ from further harming the boy, who was later whisked away in the nine-second video.

An X user, @PopoolaJoke4, who posted the video wrote, “No be the same school?”, in response to the first viral video of bullying in the same school that was released earlier.”

In one of the videos of the minister’s visit, the representative of the school was heard saying, “By the request of the Minister of Women Affairs, we are Nigerians who respect rules and regulations and we are under the law because our school is actually recognised and our school is under the Federal Capital Territory, and we are registered and based on that, Lead British International School, Abuja is hereby shut for three days.”

As of the time of filing this report, our correspondent could not ascertain whether the FCTA would use the occasion to investigate other private schools in which alleged cases of bullying take place in the FCT.

Victim threatens lawsuit

Namtira Bwala, the student assaulted by her fellow students at Lead British International School, has written the school management, demanding a thorough investigation and heavy sanctions for the 11 students who bullied her.

Two of the bullies were identified tobe Maryam Hassan and a certain Faliya.

Bwala, in a letter addressed to the management of her school through her lawyers at the Deji Adeyanju and Partners Law Firm, gave the school an ultimatum of 48 hours after which she will seek legal redress.

A copy of the letter obtained by The PUNCH read, “Our client and several other parents in Lead British International School have informed us and we verily believe them that this act of bullying is a reoccurring issue in the school, and despite several attempts to draw the school’s attention to it, the issue has persisted, leaving our client traumatised from the emotional and physical effect of the oppressive acts by these daredevil bullies.

“Our client completely dissociates herself from the statement issued by the school on April 22, 2024, wherein a case of battery was unconscionably referred to as an ‘incident between minors’.

“Sequel to the foregoing, we have our client’s instruction to demand an immediate investigation and the pronouncement of the stiffest possible sanctions in the student’s rule book on Ms. Maryam Hassan, Miss Faliya and nine other students who have formed a cult of bullies in Lead British International School, Gwarimpa, Abuja.

“Please note that if the school fails to sanction the student bullies within 48 hours of the receipt of this letter, we have our client’s further instruction to seek an immediate and severe legal redress against Lead British International School, Gwarimpa, without further recourse to you.”

PUNCH