It is not easy for now for anyone to predict, accurately, who will eventually be the Accuser and the Accused in the case of alleged sexual harassment of a student by one of her lecturers at the Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, Edo State.
The student, Ms. Judith Okosun alleged that one of her Lecturers in the Faculty of Engineering, Prof. Peter. Otubu had pestered her for sex for many years, deliberately making her fail his course on two occasions for refusing to yield to his sexual advances.
In frustration, Okosun apparently tricked the lecturer into believing that she was willing to give in to his advances if he promised to make her pass.
While the lecturer allegedly suggested that they met in a hotel, the student said she would prefer to host him in her one-room apartment as she would be more comfortable there, especially since the other students had traveled after their first semester examinations.
Otubu, oblivious of her intentions, drove to the student’s house as arranged day and still not sensing foul play, removed his clothes, only for the girl to run out of the room with them, shouting to draw the attention of those with whom she might have had a signal
The shameful act was shown in a seven-minute video of the disgraceful encounter posted on the video-sharing site, Youtube. Several national dailies also reported the incidence.
In the recorded video clip, the lecturer, who is also a Catholic Knight of Saint Mulumba (KSM), was seen obeying the commands of the students, including the order to remove his pants and the forceful signing of a cheque for N100, 000 in favour of Okosun, which he guaranteed could be cashed at the end of the month.
The students ignored his pleadings as they persistently humiliated and insulted him. The lecturer, in his 50s, was said to have been held hostage for several hours until another lecturer came to his rescue.
After his rescue however, the lecturer headed for the police station where he complained that the students had kidnapped him.
Policemen were alleged to have stormed the residence of the students and arrested anyone in sight, but they were later released with the help of the school authority.
The student contacted a law firm- Olayiwola Afolabi and Co. on the issue, which in-turn wrote a six-page petition to the Inspector General of Police, Ogbonna Onovo, and sent copies to the First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, the National Universities Commission (NUC) and Minister of Women Affairs, claiming that Okosun’s case deserved urgent consideration because millions of students had fallen victims of such situation.
According to the petition, Otubu had announced to the class that he no longer wanted to see any student that was re-taking the course in his class. This prompted Okosun and her classmates in the same predicament to see him in his office after the class. He was said to have asked them to wait outside and asked to speak with her in private.
He allegedly gave her his phone number and asked for hers, which she gave out grudgingly. From that moment, he started sending amorous text messages to her and making incessant calls to her demanding for sex.
Otubu was said to have coerced her into replying his text messages, some of which were published verbatim in the petition. He then called her after the examination on his course to inform her that she failed again.
She was dismayed that the lecturer could single her script out from the whole lot and hurriedly mark same within 24 hours after the examination.
He was said to have assured her on phone that if she could consent to having sex with him, he would bring her scripts to her to fill the blank spaces.
On July 17, this year, Otubu called to inform her that he would be in her hostel by 4 pm that day and advised her to cooperate with him, so that he could remark her script and make her pass. He came as scheduled and immediately he entered the room, he shut the door and removed his clothes, beckoning on Okosun to lie with him.
She however told the lecturer not to be in a hurry and alerted her younger sister that the lecturer was in her room, trying to force himself on her.
In less than five minutes, the younger sister alerted other students who invaded the room and found the lecturer pushing the lady to bed for sex.
Dazed by the invasion, Otubu ran out of the room in complete nudity. He knelt down and started begging the students to give him his clothes, which some of them had taken away to establish a good case against him. While that was going on, some of the students captured the incident on video and posted it on facebook.
In a fit of hopelessness, Otubu promised to pay the sum of N500, 000 to cover up the sexual harassment case. To demonstrate his seriousness, he immediately issued a cheque of N100, 000 as part payment.
The cheque is now with the Edo State Police Command. Since the day of the incident, the lecturer was alleged to had been threatening Okosun and her sister’s lives for the humiliation. He was also said to have tried to buy and destroy the exhibits connected with the case.
According to the petition, the case should be used as an example to many other lecturers who engage in these dastardly acts for sanity to be restored in universities.
Okosun’s Lawyer alleged that the investigating police officer had taken sides with Otubu and that Okosun might not get justice at the state police command
The Inspector General of Police had since August 16, directed the DIG, ‘D’ Department (FCID) in Abuja to commence investigation on the allegations
The case of Otubu and Okosun is not in isolation, as a student once recounted how her English lecturer scored her low in an examination, which she was sure that she performed well.
She had complained to the lecturer, but he told her bluntly, “you are the only girl in my class that’s proving stubborn. If you want to graduate, you know what to do.” The girl went on to recount how the lecturer forcefully bent her over on his office table and raped her in broad daylight, despite her crying and pleas that she was getting married.
Another student of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile Ife was victimised by a lecturer, who wanted to have sexual relationship with her. He had failed her for three consecutive years in the same course, which had hindered her from graduating, because she declined his sexual advances.
After the third attempt, the student had to bring her mother to the school to confront the lecturer. The woman succeeded in creating a scene, which implicated the lecturer. He was punished accordingly, and the student graduated that year.
She was just one of the few students that suffered silently as a result of sexual harassment in Nigerian institutions due to no fault of theirs, though some female students claimed that they found it difficult to complain to the school authorities for fear of being victimised. The demand for sexual favour from female students by male lecturers to pass examinations has reached alarming proportions.
Head, Department of Food Technology, Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH), Mr. Emeka Okoro said it could occur in a system where examination questions set and scoring were not moderated and inability of students to attend lectures regularly and do their continuous assessment. He noted that the dressing of some female students was also a contributing factor, adding that the problem could affect the quality of graduates from universities in the country if not checked.
He noted that YABATECH does not give room for sexual harassment, saying that the institution had to introduce the lecturer assessment questionnaire to assess the attitude of the lecturers and their lecture delivery system; internal quality assurance unit to monitor students-lecturers relationship and the quality of academic activities given to the students.
Another lecturer of the Department of Public Relations and Advertising, Lagos State University School of Communication, Surulere, Mr. Adeoye Adewole noted that the issue of sexual harassment was a reflection of the social decadence in the society and value system. He stressed the need for school authorities to discourage students from lobbying lecturers for marks or favour and enforce dress codes strictly.
He also called on school authorities to place more emphasis on hard work and see students as their wards, rather than taking advantage of them.
Adewole opined that other stakeholders such as parents, religious and student bodies, as well as the government too have a role to play in curbing the vice, stressing the need for parents to be mindful of the kind of friends their children follow. “Religious bodies should de-emphasise preaching on material acquisition, student’s union executives should not be those of low moral value, female students should not also create room for exploitation by lecturers and school authorities. The caliber of lecturers that would be employed by the government must be tamed and reported cases must be investigated with tougher sanction given to those involved”, the lecturer stressed.
A student of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Osogbo, Miss Moyo Lasisi who attributed the fault to female students and sexually indisciplined male lecturers, said it was a common occurrence and that every year; her school usually records two or three cases of sexual harassment in a department.
She said most times, the bubble bust when one of the parties fails to keep to his/her agreement. “It is a two-way thing, sometimes; ladies throw themselves at the male lecturers. It is also a known fact that lecturers are promiscuous, but you cannot completely blame them for their actions. A lot of girls also dress indecently.”
Lasisi stressed the need for the school authorities not to cover up for lecturers that were found wanting, adding that the school authorities should make them ‘public spectacle’, and the female students should also be punished.
A parent, Mr. Olabanji Oladipo also attributed the social vice to moral laxities and laziness on the part of lecturers and students, saying that some students go to school only for social activities rather than attending lectures, and at the end of the day, they would begin to look for cheap marks.
He argued that it would be difficult for a lecturer who is not disciplined to inculcate morals into his students, who most times either comes late for lectures or dressed shabbily.
In curbing this menace, Oladipo emphasised on good moral bringing and values for their children on the part of parents, saying that they should dedicate more time to their training especially the females, so that by the time they get into the higher institutions, they would not run after lecturers for cheap marks.
A clergyman, Deacon Vincent Olawale who observed that sexual harassment cuts across every spheres of life noted that it was not limited to tertiary institutions alone, and that the social vice could be as a result of not being contented with what one has.
He said, “The idea of sexual gratification is caused by not being contented with what you have. For instance, a married man seeking pleasure outside marriage and on the part of students, to augment what they are not able to meet up, say in the examinations.”
The Deacon noted that students have a lot to do in the formation of his/herself through their mode of dressing and their attitude to their academics, stressing the need for them to “be modest in your dressing, be conscious in what you do, so that you would not have to start seeking for a lee way out of any problem.”
