The Senate yesterday mandated its committees on Tertiary Institutions and Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters to investigate the alleged sexual assault against Miss Monica Osagie by a lecturer at the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) at Ile-Ife in Osun State.
It said the investigation would ensure transparency and accountability in the matter.
The Senate said the probe would ensure justice for the victim, if her allegation was found to be true.
It urged the joint committee to invite OAU authorities to explain steps taken and the outcome of internal investigation as well as institutional reviews and proposals to nip the problem in the bud.
The Senate advised the House of Representatives to concur with its Sexual Harassment in Tertiary Educational Institutions (Prohibition) Bill.
The resolutions followed a motion on “The growing trend of sexual harassment in higher institutions of learning: the case of Monica Osagie,” sponsored by Senator Biodun Olujimi (Ekiti South).
In her lead debate, Olujimi noted the menace and culture of sexual harassment in higher institutions and the psychological, physiological and emotional damage such incidents caused students.
The senator said it was for this reason the Senate, in October 2016, passed the Sexual Harassment in Tertiary Educational Institutions (Prohibition) Bill, and prescribed punishment on lecturers and academic workers who, either sexually harass or assault their male or female students.
She added: “The case of the brave Nigerian and student of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Monica Osagie, who, in an audio recording, which went viral, was able to expose her lecturer demanding sex to increase her grades.
“This has further brought home the point, further justifying the specificity and target of the new bill and the need to ensure that this perversion is kicked out of our places of learning,”
Olujimi said the university authorities had weighed in on the matter to ensure justice for the victim.
She said: “This is another matter that must not be swept under the carpet of expediency, forgetfulness or deliberate abandonment.”
The senator noted that Osagie’s case “deserves greater scrutiny and attention as it signposts how serious we are as a nation to eliminate this perversion from our schools”.
