The Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, has warned lecturers in tertiary institutions across the country against sexual harassment on campuses, stressing that the ministry would deal decisively with perpetrators of such acts.
Mamman gave the warning while receiving the report of the committee on alleged sexual harassment by the Dean, Faculty of Law, University of Calabar (UNICAL), Prof. Cyril Ndifo, in Abuja on Thursday, October 12, 2023.
The minister said sexual harassment was a serious criminal offence that must be dealt with decisively, when and wherever it occurs.
He added that the ministry would do everything humanly possible to stem the ugly tide in institutions of higher learning.
Mamman noted that the offence of sexual harassment was cancerous and must be eliminated at all costs, adding that all hands must be on deck to tackle the menace in the education system.
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He stressed that the administration of President Bola Tinubu would protect the vulnerable groups within the country’s education system.
The minister said he would evoke the long arm of the law to ensure that perpetrators were adequately punished, noting that no one would be allowed to take advantage of the vulnerable groups.
“Sexual offenses units will be established in the ministry and all institutions of higher learning to deal with the menace,” he added.
Speaking on the report, the UNICAL Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Florence Obi, said the university followed all due processes in handling the matter, including the suspension of Ndifo, appropriate queries, and setting up of a disciplinary committee to hear all parties.
Obi stated that in order to ensure a very high degree of transparency, the Public Complaint Commission (PCC) and the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) were included in the committee as observers.
Others, she said, were the Federation of Female Lawyers, ICPC, the Chief Judge of the Student’s Union, High Court, and seven Civil Society Organisations (CSOs).
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