More than 50 lecturers from public universities and polytechnics across Nigeria have faced disciplinary action for alleged sexual misconduct between April 2021 and April 2025, investigations by The PUNCH reveal.
Some of the implicated individuals, including professors, have been relieved of their duties, while others remain under investigation by disciplinary committees within their respective institutions.
The incidents, which cut across various tertiary institutions nationwide, underline the ongoing challenge of sexual harassment in Nigeria’s higher education sector.
A 2018 study by the World Bank Group’s Women, Business, and the Law project found that about 70 percent of Nigerian female graduates had experienced sexual harassment during their academic journey—often from fellow students and lecturers.
Although the Nigerian Senate passed a bill in 2021 proposing a 21-year prison sentence for lecturers convicted of sexual abuse, the legislation has not yet been enacted.
Most recently, on April 24, 2025, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University in Bauchi dismissed Dr. Usman Aliyu, a senior lecturer, following a disciplinary panel’s verdict that found him guilty of sexually harassing a married postgraduate student, Mrs. Kamila Aliyu.
The student had lodged a formal complaint in 2024, accusing him of coercion and academic threats.
Ten days earlier, on April 14, Lagos State University of Science and Technology terminated the employment of three lecturers—Mr. Nurudeen Hassan (Mass Communication), Mr. Kareem Arigbabu, and Mr. Olayinka Uthman (both from the Department of Arts & Design)—after they were found guilty of harassment.
Their dismissal followed decisions made under the institution’s senior staff policy regulations.
Earlier, on November 14, 2024, the Federal University, Lokoja, also dismissed four lecturers over similar allegations.
On August 2, 2024, Abia State University, Uturu, suspended Dr. Udochukwu Ndukwe (Mass Communication) for three months following accusations of inappropriate behavior towards a female student. In May 2024, FULokoja again suspended another staff member for misconduct.
Meanwhile, a lecturer at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Mr. Mfonobong Udoudom, was arrested by police in April 2024 after a video surfaced showing him allegedly harassing a student in his office. He had already been suspended indefinitely by the institution.
Several other cases span earlier years. In 2021, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, sacked three lecturers from the Departments of English, International Relations, and Accounting for sexual misconduct.
That same year, Federal University Oye-Ekiti and University of Lagos also sanctioned lecturers for similar offenses.
In August 2021, a lecturer at the University of Port Harcourt’s Department of Foreign Languages and Literature lost his job over harassment allegations.
Federal Polytechnic, Bauchi, also dismissed two lecturers in October of the same year, while Ignatius Ajuru University of Education and Kwara State University, Malete, took similar actions before the year ended.
OAU once again came into the spotlight in April 2022 as a professor from the Department of Linguistics and African Studies faced investigation over fresh accusations—marking the second professor implicated at the institution.
In June 2022, two professors were dismissed from the University of Abuja over sexual misconduct, as confirmed by the then Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Abdul-Raheed Na’allah.
In 2023, several more cases emerged. The ICPC arraigned Dr. Balogun Olaniran of Tai Solarin University of Education for allegedly demanding sex to alter a student’s grades.
In March, Kogi State Polytechnic sacked Abutu Thompson (Computer Science) after complaints from a female student. Ambrose Alli University, Edo State, also dismissed a lecturer in May 2023 who, despite admitting to making advances, reportedly followed the student to her church to beg for forgiveness, according to Vice-Chancellor Prof. Asomwan Adagbonyin.
In July 2023, the University of Abuja again dismissed two lecturers for similar offences, and in August, the University of Calabar suspended its Faculty of Law Dean, Prof. Cyril Ndifon, over multiple allegations.
A month later, on September 7, the University of Lagos suspended Kadri Babalola after he was accused of raping a 21-year-old student.
Amid these developments, Mr. Onoja Baba, a lecturer at Kogi State Polytechnic’s Department of Mass Communication, has called for the adoption of a “Digital Anonymous Feedback System” to facilitate safer and more effective ways for students to report abuse.
“Many students are scared of retaliation or being ignored due to bureaucratic bottlenecks,” he stated. “Without trust in the system, victims remain silent. It’s time to embrace smarter, safer reporting tools.”
