IAUE, College Of Health Slam Suspension On Lecturers Without Pay Over Alleged Extortion, Sexual Harassment
The Ignatius Ajuru University of Education Staff Disciplinary Committee has suspended Mr. Godwin Olai, a lecturer of the Department of Management from duty for 12 months with effect from 8th August, 2021, without salary.
The statement by the Vice Chancellor of the institution, Professor Ozo-Mekuri Ndimele alleged that Mr. Olai was found guilty of demanding the sum of N70,000 from one of his undergraduate supervisees to help the student write, type and bind his project.
Recall that the Management of Ignatius Ajuru University of Education had placed Mr. Godwin Olai, a lecturer with the Dept. of Management, on three months suspension and his matter referred to the Staff Disciplinary Committee for further investigation.
The Management of the University acted on an audio recording which alleged that some final year students of Mr. Godwin Olai’s department assigned to him for project supervision were asked by him to pay the sum of N70,000 each so that the lecturer would personally write, type and bind the finished projects for the students without any input from them, with the exception of writing their Dedication page and Acknowledgments.
In a related development, the Provost of Rivers State College of Health Science and Management Technology, Professor Franklyn Nlerum has disclosed that Princewill Chicakpobi, Head of Department of Dental Surgery Technician in the institution who was accused of raping a female year one student was indicted by the school panel for sexual harassment but rape could not be established rape because the female student was not able to provide medical test result to prove rape.
The Provost also disclosed to Journalists that Mr Chicakpobi Princewill was removed as Head of Department following the report of the panel.
Meanwhile some human rights group in the state have commended the action of the institution management.
A statement on Monday, August 16,2021 jointly signed by IK Alexander Esq of Centre for Basic Rights Protection and Accountability Campaign and Mrs Jane James Esq of Legal Care Advocacy Foundation that brought the matter to public domain, commended the Management of the institutions for making the outcome of the investigation by the panel public and also sanctioning the lecturers.
The statement read that ”the action taken by the institutions against the lecturers will serve as deterrent to other lecturers and students who may have the desire to engage in sexual violence on campus and reassure members of the public that the institutions have zero tolerance for sexual related offences”.
The statement added that the actions of the institutions will boost the morale of the student to report cases of sexual harassment without fear of the unknown.
It would be recalled that the right groups had filed a formal compliant at the human rights desk, of Rivers State Police headquarters Moscow road sequel to compliant by the mother of the female student, Mrs Lemon Gbara to the right groups to alleging that the lecturer raped her daughter in his office in month of April .
The institution inaugurated a panel to investigate the allegation brought against the lecturer following call by the right groups and members of the public.
