ENUGU MEDICAL VARSITY SACKS LECTURER FOR HARASSING FEMALE STUDENT

The State University of Medical and Applied Sciences (SUMAS), Igbo-Eno, Enugu State, has terminated the appointment of a lecturer, Mr., found guilty of sexually harassing a female student. The SUMAS sacks lecturer sexual harassment decision underscores the institution’s commitment to protecting students and maintaining ethical standards within its academic community.

THE DISMISSAL

The university announced the dismissal on Wednesday, following an investigation into allegations of sexual harassment brought against the lecturer by a female student.

The lecturer’s appointment was terminated after he was found culpable of the offence.The university did not disclose the identity of the lecturer or the student involved, citing privacy considerations.

The dismissal comes amid heightened national attention to the issue of sexual harassment in Nigerian universities.

A 2018 survey by the World Bank Group’s Women revealed that 70 per cent of female graduates from tertiary institutions in Nigeria were sexually harassed in school, with classmates and lecturers identified as the main perpetrators .

While the Senate passed a bill in 2021 prescribing up to 21 years’ imprisonment for lecturers found guilty of sexual harassment, most lecturers indicted and found guilty have simply been sacked rather than prosecuted.

SUMAS AND ESUT’S PRECEDENT

SUMAS’s action follows a similar precedent set by the Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT), which dismissed six staff members in August 2024 for various offences including sexual harassment, certificate forgery, and academic fraud.

Among those dismissed was Dr Ezekiel Nnadi of the Quantity Surveying Department, who was sacked for academic fraud including manipulation of results, extortion, sexual harassment, and other grave misconducts.

The ESUT Vice Chancellor at the time, Professor Aloysius-Michaels Okolie, said the Governing Council had directed management to adopt a “shame strategy” in dealing with such matters, ensuring that disciplinary issues were concluded promptly.

THE BROADER PROBLEM

Sexual harassment remains a pervasive problem in Nigerian tertiary institutions. Power imbalances between lecturers and students create an environment where abuse can flourish with impunity.

The dismissal of the SUMAS lecturer is a step in the right direction. But advocacy groups have argued that sacking is not enough, perpetrators should also face criminal prosecution.

A petition on Change.org calling for an end to sexual assault and corruption in Nigerian universities noted that “perpetrators often being faculty members who exploit their positions of power” and that “a culture of impunity perpetuated by ineffective administrative oversight and a lack of accountability mechanisms has facilitated the persistence of these abuses”.

WHY IT MATTERS

The SUMAS dismissal sends a clear message: sexual harassment will not be tolerated, and those who abuse their positions of authority will face consequences.

For students, particularly female students who are disproportionately affected by this form of abuse, the decision offers a measure of reassurance that their complaints will be taken seriously.

For the broader fight against sexual harassment in Nigerian universities, the case adds to a growing body of precedent, however slow, that accountability is possible when institutions choose to act.

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ValidViewNetwork reports that SUMAS has sacked the lecturer found guilty of sexual harassment. The university has reaffirmed its zero-tolerance stance on misconduct.