OAU student accuses another lecturer of sexual harassment

Motunrayo Afolayan, a 400-level student of the Department of International Relations, Faculty of Business Administration, Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), has accused a lecturer, Olabisi Olaleye, of sexual harassment.

Motunrayo Afolayan, who has since lodged a complaint at the university’s Centre for Gender and Social Policy Studies, alleged that Mr Olaleye failed her in ‘Diplomacy,’ course code IRS 305.

The lecturer teaches the course alongside a female colleague, Omolara Akinyemi.

According to sources in the university cited by Premium Times, Afolayan had first written the IRS 305 examination during the 2017/2018 academic calendar of the school, but was allegedly failed over her refusal to have sex with Olaleye.

During the next academic year (the 2018/2019 academic session), the student reportedly registered again for the course, but allegedly received repeated threats from the lecturer that “she would fail again and again if she refuses to sleep with him.” 

“So, she was in Olaleye’s office and just as predicted, Olaleye held her by the hand and began to fondle her. While he was carried away, the lady turned on the voice recording application on her phone and taped all his vulgar words including the threat," a university source was quoted as saying.

It was however learnt that as soon as Olaleye realised that he's about to be enmeshed in a serious mess, he quickly released Afolayan’s result which he had been withholding alongside a few others. The released result showed that the student passed.

The allegation comes nearly two years after a widely publicised scandal involving another lecturer in the faculty, Richard Akindele, and a student.

Mr Akindele, a professor of Accounting, was dismissed from the university after he was indicted for demanding sex from a female student to help improve her grades.

A federal court later sentenced the disgraced professor to 24 months in prison.