The Consumer Protection Council (CPC) on Thursday charged authorities of higher institutions in Nigeria to diligently confront sexual harassment and other related conducts within the institutions.
The CPC said that this was with a view to ensuring a conducive learning environment for students who were consumers of the schools’ educational services.
The Council’s Director General, Mr Babatunde Irukera, said this while commenting on the on-going prosecution of the dismissed lecturer of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Professor Richard Akindele.
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) is already prosecuting the university don.
Irukera said such a commitment from the leadership of the institutions would not only be re-assuring to students, the primary consumers of the educational services, but would also restore institutional reputation.
“CPC Council re-emphasises the need for learning institutions to assiduously address sexual harassment and other ancillary conducts in order to promote or restore institutional reputation.
“They need to ensure that students, being consumers of educational services, can pursue scholarship on campuses that provide safe and liberal environments.
“This is where the relationship between faculty and students leads to robust and confident knowledge sharing,’’ he said.
CPC praised the efforts of the ICPC by prosecuting the don, adding that it would prevent recurrence.
“The news that Professor Richard Akindele has been arraigned by the ICPC and is being criminally prosecuted for his gross and abusive conduct is good.
“The diligent prosecution and cooperation of all relevant stakeholders is vital to deterring others with this type of abhorrent tendencies from perpetrating such conduct.
“The Council, had on April 30, 2018, issued a statement condemning the alleged act reported to have been perpetrated by the lecturer, requesting the university authorities to thoroughly investigate the allegations.
“Similarly, the Council, in a swift reaction to the dismissal of the professor by the university after a transparent investigation, on June 21, 2018, commended OAU authorities.
“It also insisted that appropriate retribution for the conduct in accordance with extant criminal laws be pursued to the fullest extent,’’ he said. (NAN)
