THE management of Usmanu Danfodiyo University (UDUS), Sokoto, has dismissed three staff members over what they described as ‘serious’ misconduct.
Their dismissal borders on allegations of result alteration, sexual harassment, and abscondment from duty.
The university’s Governing Council approved the dismissal during its 171st regular meeting on March 12, as part of its commitment to a “zero tolerance” policy for misconduct, according to a statement signed by the institution’s Director of Information and Public Relations, Ismail Mohammed Yauri, on Friday, March 14.
However, the university did not disclose the identity of the affected staff members, a decision that raises concerns about transparency, particularly in cases involving sexual harassment.
“The Governing Council of UDUS at it 171st regular meeting, under the chairmanship of Prof. Attahiru Muhammadu Jega, OFR, has approved the dismissal of three members of staff for various offences, including alteration of results, sexual harassment and abscondment from duty. The university has zero tolerance for acts of gross misconduct.
The ICIR reports that sexual harassment remains a deeply rooted issue in Nigeria’s higher education system, with numerous reports exposing cases of lecturers and other staff preying on students.
Research shows that many female students in Nigerian tertiary institutions face sexual advances from lecturers, often with threats of academic failure if they refuse.
A recent report ‘National Campus Climate Baseline Survey on Sexual Harassment in Nigerian Tertiary Institutions,’ launched by Alliances for Africa, the Committee of Gender Directors in Nigerian universities, and top government officials, including Minister of Women Affairs, Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, noted that at least 63 per cent of female students in Nigerian 12 universities experience sexual harassment at the hands of staff and fellow students.
The survey, conducted across 12 Nigerian universities, had 3,528 respondents. This comprised 2,222 students – 67 per cent female, 32 per cent male, and 1,285 staff members, with 55 per cent being academic staff and 45 per cent non-academic staff. Additionally, 21 respondents did not identify as either students or staff.
The issue gained improved national attention in 2019 when the BBC’s Sex for Grades investigation exposed lecturers in the University of Lagos and the University of Ghana demanding sexual favours from students in exchange for academic benefits.
The revelations and spike in reported cases prompted the Nigerian Senate to introduce the Sexual Harassment Prevention Bill, which sought to criminalize such misconduct in universities.
But despite its passage, the bill awaits presidential assent to make it law.
More recently in April, 2024, a video of a lecturer suspected to be a professor at the University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN), Enugu State, went viral after he attempted to sexually harass a female student.
Similarly, Oga Lecturer reported that at least 43 lecturers were accused or indicted for sexual harassment between 2018 and 2023.
Usman Mustapha is a solution journalist with International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: umustapha@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M