Nigeria flogging video: Kwara state suspends school head

The head of a Nigerian Quranic school has been suspended after a video was widely shared showing students getting brutally punished.

One clip shows four young men severely beating a young woman with stick-like objects as onlookers watch.

The father of the student told BBC Pidgin he approved the whippings.

Male and female students had been accused of drinking alcohol, but they deny it, saying they consumed yoghurt at a birthday party.

The video has been widely circulated online and sparked public outrage with many Nigerians condemning the beatings.

The father of the female pupil said he saw footage of the alleged rule-breaking and vouched for the school in Kwara state, saying eight of his children had already graduated from the educational establishment.

He said he was upset when he saw a clip of his daughter allegedly drinking alcohol.

"I informed the school about the incident and I personally requested them to give her the appropriate punishment, and I insisted I should be present when they carried it out," he said.

In the clip his daughter is kneeling and can be seen raising her hands to protect herself from the lashings.

The beating is so severe that her hijab appears to fall off.

In another clip a young male student lying flat on the floor can be heard shouting and screaming as he receives the lashings, but the whippings appear to intensify as he yells.

The punishments were meted out by other students at the instruction of their teacher.

The students have reportedly been taken to hospital for medical tests and treatment.

The school has defended its actions because it says the punishments were given with the approval of parents.

It also said the whippings comply with Islamic law.

Nigerian media quotes a local government statement criticising the whippings after a visit to the school.

"Regardless of the explanations of the authorities on the development, the self-confessed consent of the parents and regret of the affected students, the government seriously frowns at the harsh beating seen in the footage," the statement says.

An investigation into the flogging has been launched "comprising Muslim scholars, leaders and government officials", it says.