Sex for marks: OAU lecturers demand probe of professor

The Chairman, Congress of University Academics at the Obafemi Awolowo
University, Dr Niyi Sumonu, has spoken on the case involving a a
professor at the university, Richard Akindele, accused of requesting
for sex from a female student in order to raise her scores.

Professor Akindele was on Monday fingered in sex allegations after
leaked conversation between him and the student emerged online.

In the said phone conversation, the professor could be heard asking
the student to have sex with him five times to upgrade her scored from
33 to a pass mark.

Reacting, Sumonu asked the university to investigate the matter.

He said, "If it is established that this is true, the person, who
perpetrated that does not belong to the academic environment. We are
supposed to mould the lives of the students – males and females."

Also Reacting , the immediate past Deputy Coordinator of NANS in the
South West, Mr. Saheed Afolabi, called for a thorough investigation
into the matter.

He said, "This is becoming too rampant these days and I want the
management of the OAU to investigate this. Although we are still
making efforts to know the female student, this should not be swept
under the carpet."

The Public Relations Officer of OAU, Mr. Abiodun Olanrewaju, had
earlier stated that the university would set up a committee to
ascertain the veracity of the telephone conversation as the matter was
a serious one.

Olanrewaju was quoted as saying"We have listened to the audio and we
cannot conclude on it now because this is the age of ICT; anything can
happen. The university has a way of dealing with such.

"First and foremost, we will set up a committee to determine the
veracity or otherwise of the conversation to establish authenticity of
the characters involved. If those involved happen to be our lecturer
and student as it is portrayed, the university has a machinery of
dealing with such.

"Let me make it clear, OAU has zero tolerance for sexual intimidation,
sexual harassment and sexual coercion. So, we will not accept it from
staff to students; from the workers; from superiors to subordinates
and even from students to students."