Tina Amanda
A human rights organization, the Centre for Basic Rights Protection and Accountability Campaign, has called on the Management of the University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT) to make public, findings on an allegation of sexual assault/assault involving a male lecturer and a female student of Foreign languages and literature in the institution.
A senior member of the group, Kelechi Uzoma, in an interview with journalists, expressed concern that the institution is yet to give an update on the incident sixty days after the University Public Relations Officer, Sam Kpenu, in a statement promised that they will make public their findings in no distant time.
Uzoma maintained that such silence will send the wrong signal to the Right Groups and the public on the stance of the University on issues of sexual harassment if the outcome of the investigation is not made public.
She urged the University which prides itself on having zero tolerance for sexual harassment to maintain the confidence the public has in the institution by disclosing the outcome of the investigation.
Recall that some online platform had reported that a male lecturer was beaten up for allegedly harassing sexually a female student in her off-campus room at Aluu, which he, in turn, reported to the institution that he was assaulted and kidnapped by the female student.
A statement by the Public Relations Officer of the institution in reaction to the online reports on 6 August 2021, confirmed receipt of a sexual assault case by a male lecturer against a female student of the Department of Foreign languages and Linguistics.
The University had promised to deal decisively with anyone found culpable in line with the policy document of the institution on sexual harassment but sixty days after, nothing has been heard from the University as regards the incident.
