TWO members of the Ajayi Crowther University’s security guards have been arrested for allegedly raping a female student in the school.
Management of the institution, located in Oyo, Oyo State, disclosed this on Saturday, May 11, in a statement by its public relations officer, Olufemi Atoyebi.
Atoyebi said the university had set up its own internal panel of inquiry to investigate the allegation.
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He added that the suspects had been handed over to the police with a vow to ensure heavy penalty on anyone found culpable after a thorough investigation.
Part of the statement reads, “Management of Ajayi Crowther University, Oyo received with shock a report of alleged rape of one of our female students on Thursday, May 9, 2024, by two members of our vigilance group.
“The management promptly handed over to the police, the two people alleged to have committed the crime while the university has set up its own internal panel of inquiry to investigate the allegation.
“The management reiterated its intolerance for such misconduct and promised to meet heavy penalties on any culpable individuals.”
Sexual harassment has been a recurrent issue in Nigerian tertiary institutions, and female students are mostly the targets.
A survey carried out by the World Bank in 2018 showed that classmates and lecturers sexually harassed 70 per cent of Nigerian female graduates while in school.
“The effects experienced by victims were depression and perceived insecurity on campus,” the report said.
Although the Minister of Education Tahir Mamman has threatened to deal decisively with lecturers and other members of tertiary institutions involved in sexual harassment, the Nigerian government failed to assent to a bill criminalising the act, which was passed by the National Assembly nearly four years ago.
The bill, titled “A Bill for an Act to Prevent, Prohibit and Redress Sexual Harassment of Students in Tertiary Institutions and for Matters Concerned Therewith 2019,” was sponsored by former Deputy Senate President Ovie Omo-Agege and 106 other senators.
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It proposed a 14-year jail term for offenders.
Former Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari did not assent to the bill till he left office in May 2023.
The ICIR reports that before the bill can be passed by the incumbent President Bola Tinubu, it has to be re-introduced to the National Assembly.
Nurudeen Akewushola is an investigative reporter and fact-checker with The ICIR. He believes courageous in-depth investigative reporting is the key to social justice, accountability and good governance in society. You can reach him via nyahaya@icirnigeria.org and @NurudeenAkewus1 on Twitter.