OAU would not shield Professor Opefeyitimi from sexual assault

The management of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile Ife has assured the public that it would not shield a lecturer, Professor Joseph Ayo Opefeyitimi who was accused of a sex scandal.

A female student of the university at the Department of Linguistics and African Languages, Boluwatife Hannah Bababunmi, reported the alleged sexual assault case against the lecturer who is a professor of Yoruba Incantations and Stylistics at the same department.

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Boluwatife reported to the authorities that the lecturer sexually assaulted her on the 18th of March, 2022 in his office.

The departmental committee that sat on the matter found the Professor liable and established a prima facie case against him after a thorough investigation.

At the Faculty level, the Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Professor Niyi Okunoye referred the matter to the anti-sexual harassment committee of the University.

The anti-sexual harassment committee also sat on the case and clinically deliberated on the matter and recommended appropriate disciplinary actions against the professor

The Public Relations Officer of the University, Abiodun Olarewaju, on Wednesday said the Governing Council of the University would soon take a final decision on the recommendations and determine the fate of the lecturer.

Olarewaju said OAU Management has never shielded any staff or student found to have committed any sexual misdemeanour.

The PRO said, “We want the general public to be rest assured and be reassured that the present University Management does not condone sexual rascality of any form, under any guise against any member of the University community from anybody. We also pledge to continue to protect our students, particularly the female ones, against any sexual predator, no matter how highly placed.

“As a mark of its zero-tolerance for sexual harassment, the present University Management had summarily dismissed three lecturers who had committed similar sexual offences.

“The first lecturer to be dismissed was from the Department of Management and Accounting while the second one was from the department of English Language. The third one, who was given his letter of dismissal last month, was teaching in the department of International Relations.”