By Editor
At last, the much awaited report of the Federal University of Oye Ekiti FUOYE over alleged sexual harrassment scandal involving the Vice Chancellor Prof Abayomi Sunday Fashina and a female senior staff of the university Engr Mrs Folasade Adebayo has been released.
The two-page report which was signed by the Registrar and Secretary to the Council, Muftau Ibrahim and made available to newsmen on Wednesday concluded that there was no incident of sexual harrassment against Mrs Adebayo citing police investigation and other documents attached to the report such as audio tapes, files and correspondences between the Adebayo and the VC.
“There was no case of sexual harrassment thus confirming the earlier investigation by the police during which investigation, Engr Adebayo had made a statement that she was not sexually harrassed.
The Council described the audio recordings allegedly made by Engr Adebayo as”tools for blackmail” used in a bid to pressure the university into confirming her as substantive Director of Works.
“Council noted that Engr Adebayo never made any complaint of sexual harrassment against the Vice Chancellor howsoever”
The Council, while admitting that there was conversation between the VC and Mrs Adebayo however, condemned the recording of the Vice Chancellor without his consent.
“Council condemned the act of recording people without their knowledge and consent as this is inconsistent with the freedoms of an academic community” it adds.
In a related development, the Council slammed Engr Mrs Adebayo with a warning, directing her to apologize for allegedly tarnishing the image of the institution within the next seven days.
However, the Council delivered a ‘judgement’ which many have described as a slap in the wrist to the VC by advising him only to be “more careful and circumspect in dealing with surbodinates”
But in a swift reaction, the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) has condemned in strong terms, the decisions made by the Council over the lingering sexual harrassment scandal in the university saying the reports were not only anticipated but also set a disturbing precedent in Nigeria’s university system.
In a terse press statement made available to newsmen on Thursday,
the Western Zone of SSANU criticised the Governing Council of FUOYE for its handling of the sexual harassment case involving the institution’s Vice Chancellor and a female staff member.
The SSANU’s Western Zone Chairman Comrade Abdussobur Olayiwola Salaam, expressed deep disappointment at what it described as a “compromised” investigation and an “attempt to protect the villain
According to him; “Yet, what did we expect? Can a cockroach be innocent in a gathering of fowls?” the statement read, highlighting what the union called a biased and flawed process.
The union accused the Council of ignoring the power dynamics between the Vice Chancellor and his subordinate while discrediting critical evidence such as audio recordings that captured the Vice Chancellor allegedly making inappropriate advances toward Engineer Adebayo.
“We are shocked that the Governing Council saw nothing reprehensible in a conversation where the Vice-Chancellor made the following utterances: ‘I am dying for you; I will not leave you; Make me happy and I will make you happy… I will not accept your rejection,’” SSANU stated.
Although the Council acknowledged the existence of the recordings, it reportedly failed to subject them to forensic analysis and instead focused on questioning the motive behind the recordings — suggesting they were meant for blackmail.
“Rather than be disturbed about the unequal balance of power… the Governing Council focused on the recording of the conversations,” the union noted, likening the Council’s reaction to “condemning a house owner for recording an armed robbery attempt.”
Furthermore, the union described as false the Council’s assertion that there was no official complaint of sexual harassment against Professor Fashina.
“To claim that Engineer Folashade Adebayo never made any complaint of sexual harassment… is a barefaced and brazen lie,” SSANU stated.
It also dismissed a police report cited by the Council which allegedly absolved the Vice Chancellor, noting that the report was from the Special Fraud Unit and related only to financial misconduct, not sexual harassment.
The union rejected all disciplinary actions taken against Engineer Adebayo, as well as sanctions meted out to the FUOYE SSANU Branch Chairman and Secretary, Comrades Benjamin Faleye and Ayomikun Aluko, respectively.
“The motive of demanding letters of apology within seven days is not lost on us… It is a vindictive attempt to engineer their dismissal,” Salaam alleged.
Calling for immediate government intervention, SSANU demanded the dissolution of the FUOYE Governing Council and the suspension of Professor Fashina pending an independent investigation.
“The Governing Council has failed the integrity test… Their continued stay in office puts a big question mark on President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda,” the union said.
SSANU urged the Minister of Education, Dr. Morufu Tunji Alausa, to act decisively and called on other institutions, including the Ministry of Women Affairs, ICPC, NAPTIP, National Human Rights Commission, and the National Assembly committees on Education and Women Affairs, to investigate the matter.
The union warned that it had commenced mobilisation across all 26 universities in the Western Zone for possible industrial action.
“We shall not stop until our demands are met,” SSANU added
