Senate mulls five years jail term for lecturers who sexually harass students
The Senate on Wednesday revisited the sexual harassment bill which seeks a five-year jail term and five million naira fine for lecturers convicted for sexually harassing male or female students.
The bill was sponsored by Ovie Omo-Agege (APC, Delta Central) and passed by the 8th Senate.
According to the bill, an educator will be “guilty of committing an offence of sexual harassment against a student if he/she has sexual intercourse with a student who is less than 18 years of age; has sexual intercourse with a student or demands sex from a student or a prospective student as a condition to study in an institution, or as a condition to the giving of a passing grade or the granting of honour and scholarships.”
The bill prescribes that: “Any person who commits any of the acts specified in Section 4 of this Act is guilty of an offence and shall, on conviction, be sentenced to imprisonment of up to five years, but not less than two years without any option of a fine.”
The bill, however, was dumped because it could not get presidential approval after its passage by the 8th Senate.
Some of the senators who were against the bill said that it should not only be targeted against lecturers but at everybody convicted of the crime.
The reintroduced bill is also sponsored by Mr Omo-Agege.
The reconsideration of the bill is coming days after a BBC investigative report exposed two lecturers of the University of Lagos for alleged sexual harassment of female students.
