Sex-for-marks: OAU sacks Akindele
OAU’s Vice Chancellor, Prof. Eyitope Ogunbodede, announced Akindele’s dismissal in a statement yesterday in Ile-Ife. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the vice chancellor, on April 19, confirmed Akindele’s suspension pending the findings of an investigative panel.
Miss Monica Osagie, a student in the Masters of Business programme, had released a recorded telephone conversation, which went viral, in which the lecturer, identified as Akindele, demanded five rounds of sex to enhance her marks. Ogunbodede said the university’s Senate, at its meeting on June 14, considered the committee’s finding that Akindele had an inappropriate relationship with his student.
The vice chancellor said this was established
through their conversation in the audio
recording, his reply to the query, the oral evidence and the printed ‘WhatsApp
conversations’ tendered before the committee.
He said: “He offered to change Miss Osagie’s purported
“33 per cent” result to a pass mark in consideration for sexual favours; this
was established in the audio recording which he admitted.
“His claim that Miss Osagie knew that she had
passed with a score of ‘45’ but was seeking to score an ‘A’ and that this led
to him being sexually harassed by Miss Osagie cannot be supported by any
evidence.
“Professor Akindele’s action in requesting for
sexual favours from Miss Osagie to change her examination scores was a
scandalous behaviour that has brought ridicule to the name of the university
and tarnished the reputation of the university, as it portrays the university
as an institution where its teachers and examiners trade marks for sexual
favours.
“From the evidence, Miss Osagie had no idea that
she scored ‘45’, a pass mark, as later claimed by Professor Akindele, although
she later found out she did not fail the course.
“Professor Akindele’s claim that he reported Miss
Osagie’s ‘harassment’ to his colleagues cannot be supported by any evidence as
all his colleagues denied it and one mentioned that she only talked about the
matter with him after the audio recording was released over the internet.
“Professor Akindele operated in a position of
power and authority over Miss Osagie and as such sexually harassed her.
“Professor Akindele was liable for all the
allegations of misconduct levelled against him.”
The vice chancellor said the Senate recommended
that Akindele, having been found liable on all the allegations against him,
should be dismissed from the services of the university.
“The Council, at its meeting on June 20, having
considered the recommendation of Senate, as well as the report of the Joint
Committee of Council and Senate, decided that Professor Richard I. Akindele
should be dismissed from the services of the university for gross misconduct.
“The university has also taken further steps to
ensure the total elimination of Sexual Harassment (SH) in the OAU community.
“The university has a legal duty to prevent sexual
and gender-based harassment within the institution and ensure that both men and
women are protected from this menace; and thereby provide conducive environment
for teaching and learning,” he said.
Ogunbodede noted that to create conducive
environment for teaching and learning, the university was creating more
awareness and disseminating information on what constitutes sexual harassment
within the university.
He said: “OAU has zero tolerance for sexual
harassment and as a renowned university will do everything humanly possible to
maintain the rules and regulations of the university,” Ogunbodede said.
Miss Osagie’s lawyer, Mrs. Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi,
said it was a victory, not for the student alone but also for other students in
Nigerian schools.
She said: “We hope it will be a lesson for other
predators. It’s been a tortious journey. We do hope lessons are learnt by all.
For the institutions, it’s important that mechanisms are in place to checkmate
sexual harassment.
“There should a whistle-blower policy that can
protect informants from being further victimised. The school system should be
more accessible and sensitive to students’ situations…”
Daily Trust
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