Alleged Rape: Police arrest Nigerian university lecturer

The police in Lagos State have arrested a lecturer at the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Kadiri Babalola, for allegedly raping a 20-year-old undergraduate of the institution.

The victim accused Mr Babalola, an associate professor of Botany of perpetrating the act on 16 August, when she visited his office to resolve some issues concerning her results.

The lecturer was arrested following a complaint lodged at the gender unit of the Ikeja police command by a non-governmental organisation- Inclusive Social Welfare and Empowerment Foundation (InclusiveSWEF), where the victim had reported the case.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, told PREMIUM TIMES Thursday that the lecturer has been arrested for “sexual harassment” and will appear in court when a date is fixed for his arraignment.

A member of staff of the university, who pleaded anonymity, has expressed shock over the allegation.

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“We never expected it because Mr Babalola is a hardworking and highly respected man. But we will wait for the court outcome.” the source said.

Call for justice

Speaking to PREMIUM TIMES, the founder and principal consultant of InclusiveSWEF, Pat Isiorho-Eleto, noted that while the victim’s identity will be protected, her organisation is keenly following the case to get justice for her.

“We are trying to be careful because she is in the university, we have to protect her from stigmatisation, and there are concerns for her safety as well,” Mrs Isiorho-Eleto said.

“We are more concerned about getting justice for her.”

Harassment on campuses

One of the major challenges rocking Nigerian tertiary institutions is the high incidence of allegations of sexual harassment.

Recently, PREMIUM TIMES reported how female students of the Faculty of Law, University of Calabar, Cross River State, staged a protest on the campus against the dean of the faculty, Cyril Ndifon, whom they accused of sexual harassment.

The students carried placards that read, “Law students are not Bonanza, Prof. Ndifon should stop grabbing us,” “The Faculty of Law is not a brothel,” “Ndifon must go for our sanity,” among other inscriptions.

The university authority subsequently suspended Mr Ndifon on 17 August. He had previously been suspended by the school authority in 2015 after he was accused of raping a 20-year-old law student in his office, an allegation the professor challenged in court.

University confirms arrest

Reacting to the development, Adejoke Alaga-Ibrahim, the institution’s spokesperson, in a statement to PREMIUM TIMES noted that the university was aware of an investigation involving an employee of the university.

Mrs Alaga-Ibrahim said on 28 August, the university management received a letter from the Nigeria Police Force, inviting an employee of the university for questioning.

“The employee was immediately informed of the development and advised to comply,” she said.

“While we are not yet privy to the full details of the incident that led to the arrest of the employee, we are fully aware that the investigation is ongoing and we are cooperating with security agencies to ensure that the matter is resolved in the interest of justice.”

Mrs Alaga-Ibrahim reiterated the university’s commitment to ensuring that “justice is served.”