Victoria OparaMINISTER of Women Affairs, Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye, has said the intentions behind her comments that appeared to threaten a student of the University of Calabar (UNICAL), who alleged sexual harassment by former Dean of Law Cyril Ndifon, were sincere.
This is according to a statement by ministry’s Director of Press, Olujimi Oyetomi, released today.
“I wish to express my sincere apologies to those who were offended by my comments and actions regarding the sexual harassment scandal at the University of Calabar. This is extremely regrettable as my intentions were sincere and aligned with my consistent advocacy for the welfare of Nigerian women and the pursuit of justice,” she said.
Kennedy-Ohanenye said this following backlash that trailed a leaked audio tape in which she was heard warning a student to keep off the case. The minister, in the statement, noted that she is committed to the advancement of the rights and welfare of Nigerian women.
“I stand for all Nigerian women and I stand for justice; and it is my hope that we can work together to actualise the dream of a country where women’s rights are respected and protected, and where our daughters feel safe in institutions of learning,” the statement read.
In a leaked telephone conversation between Kennedy-Ohanenye and a student of UNICAL, the minister threatened to see to the imprisonment of the students if they lied against Ndifon.
“If your VC makes you to go and lie against somebody, you will go to jail, trust me. I want you to be very careful because your future is at stake. You can’t join anybody and maltreat a fellow human being and equally, nobody wants you to be maltreated.
“The day I spoke with you, I recorded what you spoke and you told me the whole truth. I have contacted your VC, I don’t know what her plans are, I don’t want to quote anybody, I don’t equally want to condemn anybody or judge anybody. But I want you to be very careful because this thing is going to prove fire. If I were you, as you have already said to me, nobody raped you, nobody sexually harassed you, keep off from this case if I were you,” Kennedy-Ohanenye told the student.
She also encouraged the student to visit her and promised to empower her and other witnesses to make their lives “easier.”
CSOs call for Kennedy-Ohanenye’s sack
Prior to the apology, several Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), including Womanifesto, a group of over 1000 women institutions and individuals, called for the minister’s sack following her actions which they say contradicts her mandate.
A letter to the minister signed by Co-Convener of Womanifesto, Abiola Akinyode-Afolabi, on Saturday, noted that Kennedy-Ohanenye had earlier been advised to desist from meddling with the case or intimidating the students and demanded an immediate apology.
“We will spare no efforts in taking further lawful action that may affect your position if you do not do the needful by taking steps to apologise publicly and retract your threats to the students and utterances on rape and sexual harassment.
“Your utterances, Honourable Minister, have no doubt done a lot of damage to the collective of Nigerian Women and girls, and we hereby demand that you publicly apologize for meddling in the UNICAL sexual harassment case against Prof. Ndifon and attempting to silence the voices of the students who are victims of the harassment. We expect your commitment to justice and fair play. We expect no less from the office of the Minister of Women Affairs.
Noting that Kennedy-Ohanenye’s view of sexual harassment is myopic, the women added that her utterances reflected bias in favour of the lecturer.
Ndifon was accused of sexual harassment during a protest against him by female Law students of UNICAL on August 15. He was suspended by the university two days later.
While he has denied the allegations and described them as lies, this is his second suspension for similar reasons; the first time being in 2015, when a final-year student accused him of raping her in his office.