The Lagos State University (LASU) has dismissed two senior academic staff members over allegations bordering on sexual harassment, financial misconduct, and other violations of the university’s code of conduct.
The decision was ratified at the institution’s 143rd Statutory Governing Council meeting held on Friday. It followed a petition submitted by a member of the Take It Back Movement, Taofeek Adekunle, who accused the affected staff of misconduct, including harassment of students and unethical handling of university funds. Those dismissed are Professor Olatunji Tajudeen Fasasi Abanikanda, Dean of the Epe Campus and a senior lecturer in the Department of Agricultural Science, and Khadeejat Kareem-Ibraheem, Coordinator of the Department of Animal Sciences in the School of Agriculture.
In a statement issued on Thursday by the LASU Registrar and Secretary to the Council, Emmanuel Fanu, the university announced that both staff members were found guilty of gross misconduct following a six-week internal investigation. According to the statement, Prof. Abanikanda was dismissed for several infractions, including the alleged sexual harassment of female students, verbal abuse of students and colleagues, and subjecting final-year students to inhumane treatment during fieldwork. The report stated that students were kept on the university farm from 6:30 am to 10:00 pm without proper food, shelter, or rest, even during heavy rainfall.
He was also accused of unauthorised collection of money from students and staff, in breach of university rules. Kareem-Ibraheem was dismissed for dereliction of duty and financial misconduct. Investigations revealed that she failed to remit over N10 million generated from the sale of farm produce and instead transferred the funds into her personal bank account. The university stated that both lecturers had violated LASU’s 2017 Conditions of Service (as amended), and their actions were deemed damaging to the institution’s integrity and commitment to accountability.
