Posted by By GABRIEL DIKE on
Despite being caught in his underpants with a female undergraduate in a Lagos hotel room, the Senior Staff Disciplinary Committee of Lagos State University (LASU), has found Mr. Stanley Adebodun Oriola not guilty of sexual harassment but recommended his dismissal for examination malpractice.
Despite being caught in his underpants with a female undergraduate in a Lagos hotel room, the Senior Staff Disciplinary Committee of Lagos State University (LASU), has found Mr. Stanley Adebodun Oriola not guilty of sexual harassment but recommended his dismissal for examination malpractice.
Oriola, the English lecturer, was alleged to have attempted to rape the 200-level student (names withheld) in his office but when she warded him off, he reportedly devised another strategy to sleep with her in exchange for marks.
His accusers also claimed that he threatened to fail her if she continued to rebuff his amorous advances.
Unable to bear the pressure, the girl cried to her fiancé who in turn reported the matter to the office of the Vice Chancellor on June 6, 2005.
Before then, Oriola had given the girl a date at a rendezvous in Ketu, a suburb of Lagos, and mobilised her with transport fare to go wait for him.
Disturbed by the development, which also challenged the authorities on their anti-harassment crusade, the VC detailed security personnel to accompany the girl to Oriola's love nest.
There, he was caught on June 7 in his underpants, while getting ready to savour his prey in room 3.
Part of the exhibits recovered from him in the hotel room were two examination scripts of ENG 122 and ENG 125 courses.
Following his arrest, the University made him to face a panel amidst clamour by segments of the institution for justice and fairness.
And, last week, the Senior Staff Disciplinary Committee that tried Oriola found him guilty, not of sexcapade as many are wont to expect, but of examination fraud.
The Vice Chancellor of LASU, Professor Abisogun Leigh told Sunday Sun at the weekend that the senate of the University had approved his dismissal over examination malpractice.
Leigh said the case was brought before the senate disciplinary committee and Oriola was found guilty of examination malpractice and recommended to be fired.
He added: "It is a clear case of sexual harassment but the senate committee felt otherwise. Even some of his colleagues are saying it was not sexual harassment and that, it was a set up."
According to him, the senate committee in arriving at its decision said that Oriola was found with examination scripts outside the University and described his action as an embarrassment to LASU.
The LASU VC however said he would not be deterred in implementing the senate declaration on sexual harassment and to rid the system of the rot that had been giving the institution a bad image outside.
He confirmed that the English lecturer is currently being prosecuted in court, adding however that the University had no hand in the process.
Sunday Sun had reported exclusively on June 12 that Oriola was caught in the Ketu hotel room with only his underpants, following a complaint by the aggrieved fiancé of the female student that he (Oriola) had been intimidating to unlawfully sleep with.
However, Oriola in his statement claimed that the girl had continuously pestered him to coach her on some courses, adding that both agreed on a date and venue where the LASU security personnel stormed, arrested, beat him up and injured him.
Curiously, after his arrest, Oriola had made spirited attempts to escape but was given a hot chase by the security personnel who re-arrested him. He was brought to the main campus where the VC, staff and students came to watch him.