sexual harassment By Itoro Etukudo
SOME students at the Federal University, Lokoja (FUL), Kogi State, on Friday, May 10 reportedly stripped naked a senior lecturer of the institution after he was accused of making sexual advances towards a female undergraduate.
According to a report, the lecturer, whose full name has not been disclosed, angered female students from the institution’s English Department, where he teaches, upon learning of his alleged misconduct
They insisted that he must be “publicly disgraced,” claiming that “his cup is full”.
He was stripped to his boxers but was saved from further humiliation by the combined efforts of the school’s security unit at the Adankolo mini campus of the institution.
While he was being questioned, the lecturer claimed that his colleagues had provided him with the names of some students to “pass or fail” following their relationships with them.
Speaking on the issue, the institution’s spokesperson, Daniel Iyke,confirmed that the management was aware of the incident and had set up a team to investigate it.
“The thing is that the university has its own internal mechanism in for taking care of it. The report has been brought to the attention of the Vice-Chancellor, and he has set up a body to look into it.
“This was done immediately, and the report or outcome will be made known as soon as it comes out. At this point, this is all I can volunteer,” Iyke said.
Efforts by newsmen to speak to the said female victim or her father, who is reported to be a serving policeman, proved unsuccessful.
Sexual harassment has been a recurring issue in most Nigerian universities. There have been reports and instances of sexual harassment which have prompted increased awareness and efforts to address the issue.
In April, a video of a lecturer suspected to be a professor at the University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN) in Enugu State went viral after he attempted to sexually harass a female student.
Oga Lecturer reported that at least 43 lecturers were accused or indicted for sexual harassment between 2018 and 2023.