Groups slam sexual harassment of female students by lecturers

The Anti-Sexual Harassment Advocacy Cluster, has expressed worry over the unabating conduct of some lecturers, who sexually harass female students for marks.

The group, therefore, urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to assent to the Sexual Harassment in Tertiary Institutions (prohibition) bill to end several cases of sexual harassment of under-graduates in tertiary institutions by lecturers.

Addressing newsmen over the unhealthy development in Kano, the spokesman of ASHA Cluster, a consortium of different Civil Society Organisations, Kabiru Dakata, stated in a statement that the menace can be addressed if President Tinubu signs the Anti-Sexual bill into law.

Dakata said, “In April 2018, Prof. Richard Akindele of the Department of Accounting Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife was accused of sexually harassing a female student, identified as Monica Osagie (Alexandra, 2018; Lawal, 2018). The recorded exchanges where the said lecturer verbally harassed the female student were disclosed to the media and that became a matter of nationwide discussion.

“Recently, students of the Faculty of Law, University of Calabar, protested against persistent sexual harassment by the Dean of the faculty, Prof Cyril Ndifon.”

However, Dakata, expressed satisfaction that the 9th National Assembly passed the Anti-Sexual Harassment Bill, seeking to promote and protect ethical standards in tertiary institutions.

He appealed to President Tinubu to assent to the bill.