* Proposes sexual offences units in ministry, institutions
The Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, has warned lecturers in tertiary institutions across the country against sexual harassment of students, 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.
The minister said sexual harassment is a criminal offence that must be dealt with decisively, when and wherever it occurs.
He added that the ministry would do everything possible to tackle the menace in institutions of higher learning.
Mamman noted that the offence of sexual harassment is cancerous and must be eliminated at all costs, adding that all hands must be on deck to tackle the menace in the education system.
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 invoke the long arm of the law to ensure that perpetrators are 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.
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 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).