UNILAG lecturer accused of raping 20-year-old student

A lecturer at the University of Lagos, UNILAG, Kadiri Akeem Babalola, has been accused of raping a 20-year-old female student of the institution.

Babalola, an Associate Professor, was accused by the female student of perpetrating the act on August 16, 2023, when she visited his office to sort out issues concerning her results.

A Twitter user, Deji Lambo, disclosed on Wednesday, September 6, that the case was taken up by a Non-Governmental Organisation, NGO, Inclusive Social Welfare and Empowerment Foundation, ISWEF, and Babalola confessed to perpetrating the crime.

“Inclusive SWEF reported the case to the Gender Unit of the state police command and through the OC Gender, the state CP, Idowu Owohunwa, issued a warrant of arrest for Babalola through the state High Court and involved the Vice Chancellor, UNILAG,” Lambo tweeted.

“The VC was given seven days to produce Babalola and when the VC invited the randy lecturer for questioning, InclusiveSWEF said he admitted to committing the crime. The VC informed the police through the Chief Security Officer of the school and Babalola was arrested,” Lambo posted further.

Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Benjamin Hundeyin, also confirmed the incident via his official Twitter handle on Wednesday.

“He is to appear in court in the coming days,” Hundeyin posted.

Sexual harassment has been a recurrent issue in Nigerian universities, and female students are mostly the target.

On Monday, August 15, female students of the University of Calabar Law faculty staged a protest  against sexual harassment and intimidation by the Dean, Cyril Ndifon.

The students carried placards that read “Law students are not Bonanza, Prof. Ndifon Kadirishould stop grabbing us. The Faculty of Law is not a brothel,” “Ndifon must go for our sanity,” among other inscriptions.

Ndifon was suspended by the university on August 17, his second suspension for sexual harassment since 2015 when he was accused of raping a final-year student.

At the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra state, two lecturers were also accused of sexual harassment made by an anonymous student.