Reports have emerged that the management of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) Ile-ife have refused to release the certificate of the victim in the sex for marks scandal that rocked the institution in 2019.
The Herald discovered that the management of OAU refused to release the certificate of Ms. Monica Osagie even after the high profile lecturer involved in the scandal, Prof. Richard Iyiola Akindele was dismissed by the institution’s authorities.
This was revealed after a Human Rights Activist, Dr. Abiola Akinyode Afolabi petitioned the University authorities on the issue.
Dr. Abiola who is also the Founding Director of The Women Advocates Research and Documentation System (WARDC) insisted that the University ought to release the certificate of the young woman who is a victim of sexual harassment for justice to be served.
OAU had made national headlines in April of 2019 after Ms. Osagie leaked a recording of Prof. Akindele demanding for sex five times so the young woman could obtain a ‘pass’ in his course.
OAU had thereafter withheld Ms. Osagie’s certificate despite taking disciplinary action against Prof. Akindele.
The randy lecturer was sentenced to two years in prison after being charged to court for demanding sex for grades by Justice Maureen Onyetenu.
Dr. Abiola who granted an interview after a training workshop organised for lecturers and administrators on Protection of Girls in Tertiary Institutions in Bauchi said withholding Ms. Osagie’s certificate will discourage other victims of sexual harassment in the Tertiary Institution.
“It was an open thing in the public domain that we supported the Sexual and Gender Based Violence case against Prof. Akindele involving a female student.
We gave the student all the support and confidence to be able to speak out because there was a problem on something that was released on social media and the young student was afraid to even come out”
”We had to tell her there is a need to speak out so we can resolve the problem before she became courageous about it, we gave her our support all through the processes of her attending or appearing before the OAU panel set up then to investigate the the sexual harassment allegations”
”Until now, she has not being able to get her certificate, and as far as we are concern , justice is not being done.
The system must understand that justice must be done to the students when they have the courage to speak out.
Where the student did not get her certificate after all went she passed through, justice has not being done.” She said.
She stated further that she had appealled to the University authorities to release Ms. Osagie’s certificate to ensure that Justice is fully served.
Dr. Afolabi also lamented the rising cases of sexual harrasment across Nigerian Universities which she said necessitated the training workshop to highlight the strategy adopted by various tertiary institutions to stem sexual and gender based violence.
She also noted that although there are laws and regulations against sexual harrasment in Nigerian Universities, those regulations are barely adhered to.
She called out members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to do more regarding sexual harrasment in the universities.