Between April 2021 and April 2025, over 50 lecturers from Nigerian universities and polytechnics have been dismissed or suspended over sexual misconduct, according to investigations by The PUNCH.
The most recent case occurred on April 24, 2025, when Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi, dismissed Dr. Usman Aliyu for allegedly harassing a married postgraduate student. The University’s disciplinary committee confirmed the misconduct after an investigation.
Ten days earlier, Lagos State University of Science and Technology terminated the appointments of three lecturers—Mr. Nurudeen Hassan (Mass Communication), Mr. Kareem Arigbabu, and Mr. Olayinka Uthman (Arts & Design)—following a probe into sexual harassment allegations, in line with the University’s staff conduct regulations.
Other institutions have taken similar actions. In November 2024, the Federal University, Lokoja, dismissed four lecturers over sexual harassment and examination misconduct.
In August 2024, Abia State University suspended Dr. Udochukwu Ndukwe for three months over a harassment claim. Earlier, in April 2024, the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, suspended a lecturer, Mr Mfonobong Udoudom, after a viral video allegedly showed him harassing a female student.
Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, dismissed three lecturers in 2021 and launched another probe in 2022 involving a professor from the Department of Linguistics.
The University of Lagos fired two lecturers in June 2021 and suspended another, Kadri Babalola, in September 2023 after he was accused of raping a student.
Other institutions, including the Federal University, Oye-Ekiti, University of Port Harcourt, Kwara State University, Ignatius Ajuru University, and Federal Polytechnic, Bauchi, have also taken disciplinary actions against staff between 2021 and 2022.
In 2023, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) arraigned Dr Balogun Olaniran of Tai Solarin University of Education for allegedly demanding sexual favours in exchange for grade changes.
Kogi State Polytechnic dismissed two lecturers in 2023, including Mr Abutu Thompson, for misconduct. Ambrose Alli University fired a lecturer in May 2023 after he was found guilty by a disciplinary panel. The University of Abuja dismissed four lecturers between 2022 and 2023.
In August 2023, the University of Calabar suspended its Dean of Law, Prof. Cyril Ndifon, over multiple harassment allegations.
Despite the Nigerian Senate passing a bill in 2021 proposing a 21-year jail term for offenders, the law remains unsigned. Education stakeholders have called for more robust and confidential reporting systems. Mr Onoja Baba of Kogi State Polytechnic proposed a “Digital Anonymous Feedback System” to allow students to report abuse safely without fear of retaliation.
Advocates argue that until strong legal and institutional safeguards are fully implemented, many victims will continue to suffer in silence.
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