According to an analysis of media reports, 39 lecturers in the country’s postsecondary institutions have been accused of sexual misconduct and fired as a result in the last five years.
In Nigeria, sexual harassment has been a persistent issue in higher education. According to a 2018 World Bank Group Women survey, 70% of female graduates from tertiary institutions in the nation reported experiencing sexual harassment during their time in school, with lecturers and classmates being the primary perpetrators.
Despite the fact that the Senate passed a bill in 2021 mandating 21 years in prison for lecturers who were deemed to be disruptive, most of the lecturers who were charged and found guilty after the bill was passed were reportedly fired.
Richard Oladele, an accounting professor at Obafemi Awolowo University in Ile-Ife, was placed on indefinite leave due to allegations of sexual harassment in April 2018.
Three instructors from the English language, international relations, and accounting departments were also fired by the university in 2021 due to allegations of sexual harassment.
The university also declared in February 2020 that a lecturer at Monday Omo-Etan’s Center for Distance Learning would be suspended due to her history of sexually abusing a 19-year-old female student.
Ambrose Ali University in Ekpoma declared in 2019 that associate professor Monday Igbafen had been suspended due to accusations that she had harassed female students sexually. At the time, Igbafen was the head of the Academic Staff Union of Universities’ AAU branch. He had claimed that the vice-chancellor of the university was attempting to frame him.
In a letter sent to the university by his attorneys, Osahon Irebhude & Co., the senior lecturer in the philosophy department demanded a formal apology from the institution.The Imo State University administration announced in September 2020 that two of its lecturers had been suspended due to allegations of sexual misconduct involving female students.
The University of Nigeria, Nsukka, declared in February 2021 that Dr. Chigozie Odum, a lecturer in the Department of Archaeology and Tourism, would be suspended due to concerns about possible sexual misconduct.
Similar suspension was imposed in June 2021 by the Federal University, Oye-Ekiti, for sexual misconduct against a lecturer in the Department of Media and Theatre Arts.
The University of Lagos’ administration declared in the same month that two professors had been fired for comparable offenses.
The University of Port Harcourt declared in August of that year that a lecturer in the Department of Foreign Languages and Literature had been fired due to sexual misconduct.
Two lecturers from the departments of general studies and nutrition/dietetics were fired by the Federal Polytechnic, Bauchi, in October 2021 due to allegations of sexual misconduct.
A lecturer at Ignatius Ajuru University of Education’s Department of Sociology was fired for having an affair with a female student.
A lecturer at Kwara State University, Malete, was fired in December 2021 after harassing a student in the department of pure and applied sciences, the university announced.