More than 50 lecturers across Nigerian public universities and polytechnics have been indicted for sexual misconduct between April 2021 and April 2025, findings by DIP CONNECTS ONLINE NEWS reveal.
The sanctions range from dismissals to ongoing disciplinary proceedings, involving both junior staff and senior academics, including professors. This comes despite the Senate's 2021 passage of a bill prescribing a 21-year jail term for sex-for-grade offenders—a law yet to be signed.
Most recently, on April 24, 2025, the Governing Council of Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi, dismissed Dr. Usman Aliyu for sexually harassing a married postgraduate student, Mrs. Kamila Aliyu. Her 2024 petition led to a disciplinary investigation, which found the lecturer guilty of misconduct.
Just 10 days earlier, on April 14, Lagos State University of Science and Technology dismissed three lecturers—Mr. Nurudeen Hassan (Mass Communication), Mr. Kareem Arigbabu, and Mr. Olayinka Uthman (Arts & Design)—after its Governing Council upheld findings of sexual harassment.
Similarly, the Federal University, Lokoja, announced the dismissal of four lecturers on November 14, 2024, while Abia State University, Uturu, suspended Dr. Udochukwu Ndukwe for three months on August 2, 2024, following harassment allegations.
In April 2024, Enugu State Police arrested Mr. Mfonobong Udoudom, a suspended University of Nigeria lecturer, after a video emerged showing him harassing a female student. FULokoja had also suspended another lecturer in May 2024 for similar reasons.
These incidents highlight the widespread nature of sexual harassment in Nigeria’s higher education institutions.
A 2018 World Bank Women, Business, and the Law project survey revealed that 70% of Nigerian female graduates had experienced sexual harassment in school—often from classmates and lecturers.
Past actions include the 2021 dismissal of three Obafemi Awolowo University lecturers from the Departments of English, International Relations, and Accounting; and the suspension of a Media and Theatre Arts lecturer at the Federal University, Oye-Ekiti, in June 2021.
That same month, the University of Lagos dismissed two lecturers, while the University of Port Harcourt fired a lecturer from the Department of Foreign Languages in August. In October, the Federal Polytechnic, Bauchi, sacked two lecturers for similar misconduct.
The Ignatius Ajuru University of Education dismissed a lecturer in 2021 for impregnating a student. That December, Kwara State University, Malete, also dismissed a lecturer, and Rivers State's Elechi Amadi Polytechnic followed suit in January 2022.
In April 2022, OAU again came under scrutiny after launching a probe into a professor in the Department of Linguistics—raising the number of indicted professors there to two.
The University of Abuja dismissed two professors for sexual misconduct in June 2022 under then-Vice Chancellor Prof. Abdul-Rasheed Na’allah.
In 2023, the ICPC arraigned Dr. Balogun Olaniran of Tai Solarin University of Education for demanding sex to alter a student’s grades. In March that year, Kogi State Polytechnic dismissed Computer Science lecturer Abutu Thompson for harassment. Ambrose Alli University followed in May, dismissing a lecturer who admitted to misconduct and went as far as apologizing at the student’s church.
In July 2023, UNIABUJA again sacked two lecturers. A month later, the University of Calabar suspended its Faculty of Law Dean, Prof. Cyril Ndifon, after multiple allegations surfaced.
On September 7, 2023, UNILAG suspended lecturer Kadri Babalola, accused of raping a 21-year-old student.
Amid growing concerns, Kogi State Polytechnic lecturer Mr. Onoja Baba proposed a “Digital Anonymous Feedback System” to improve reporting and protection for victims. He criticized current mechanisms as bureaucratic and intimidating, saying victims often fear retaliation.
“Without trusted channels, many remain silent,” he said. “We need to rethink how reporting and accountability are handled in our institutions.”
ADEOLA KUNLE
