Between April 2021 and April 2025, investigations have revealed that at least 50 lecturers from Nigerian public universities and polytechnics have been implicated in various forms of sexual misconduct. These cases, spanning across the country’s higher education institutions, illustrate the troubling prevalence of sexual harassment within Nigeria’s academic landscape.
Some of the accused academics, including professors, have been removed from their positions, while others are currently undergoing disciplinary procedures. The scale of these incidents underscores the deep-rooted challenges in curbing sexual exploitation in educational environments.
A report from the World Bank Group’s Women, Business, and the Law initiative in 2018 highlighted the alarming statistic that 70 percent of female graduates in Nigeria have faced sexual harassment during their academic careers, with the majority of incidents being attributed to both peers and academic staff members.
Although the Nigerian Senate passed a bill in 2021 proposing a 21-year prison sentence for lecturers found guilty of sexual misconduct, the bill has yet to be signed into law, leaving a critical gap in legal enforcement.
The most recent high-profile case involved the dismissal of Dr. Usman Aliyu, a senior lecturer at Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi, on April 24, 2025. He was fired following allegations of sexual harassment against postgraduate student Mrs. Kamila Aliyu, further shedding light on the need for immediate reforms within the system.
The university acted upon the findings of its Senior Staff Disciplinary Committee, which found the lecturer guilty of misconduct.
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Mrs. Aliyu had petitioned the school in 2024, accusing Dr. Aliyu of coercion and threatening her academic progress.
Just 10 days earlier, on April 14, 2025, the Lagos State University of Science and Technology dismissed three lecturers, identified as Mr. Nurudeen Hassan (Mass Communication), Mr. Kareem Arigbabu, and Mr. Olayinka Uthman (both from the Department of Arts & Design), over sexual harassment.
According to a memo titled “Dismissal of Staff Members Due to Sexual Harassment Allegations,” the decision followed deliberations by the institution’s Governing Council under Section 5.5.2(v) of the University Senior Staff Conditions of Service.
In a series of developments highlighting ongoing concerns over sexual misconduct in Nigerian universities, the Federal University, Lokoja, announced the dismissal of four unnamed lecturers on November 14, 2024, following allegations of sexual misconduct.
This follows a similar incident on August 2, 2024, when Abia State University, Uturu, suspended Dr. Udochukwu Ndukwe from the Department of Mass Communication for three months in response to accusations of harassing a female student.
Earlier in May 2024, FULokoja once again took disciplinary action, suspending a lecturer over comparable allegations. That same month, Enugu State Police arrested Mr. Mfonobong Udoudom, a suspended lecturer from the University of Nigeria, after a disturbing video surfaced, showing him allegedly harassing a female student in his office. The university had previously imposed an indefinite suspension on him.
These incidents reflect a troubling trend, which dates back to 2021, when three lecturers from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, were dismissed for sexual harassment—one from the Departments of English, International Relations, and Accounting respectively.