Stringent punishment awaits randy and
morally bankrupt male lecturers in tertiary
institutions, as the Senate yesterday
recommended a 5-year jail term without any
option of fine for any of them found guilt y of
harassing female students sexually.
A Bill to that effect titled: “Sexual Harassment
in Tertiary Institutions Bill 2016,” co-
sponsored by 45 senators, passed first reading
at the Upper Chamber yesterday.
The Bill, according to its lead sponsor,
Senator Ovie Omo- Agege, “seeks enactment of
an Act to Make Provisions for the Prohibition
of Sexual Harassment of Students by
Educators in
Tertiary Educational Institutions in Nigeria
and for Matters Connected Therewith, 2016.
The senator, at a media briefing, disclosed
that the major intension of the Bill, was to
restore morality, discipline and sanity between
male educators and female students in higher
institutions in the country.
He explained that the Bill, when passed,
“would serve as the needed legal framework of
domesticating the honour code existing
between lecturers and students in tertiary
institutions in United States of America into
our own penal code here.”
The lawmaker further said, after careful and
detailed research on the menace of sexual
harassment of female students by male
lecturers in the nation’s varsities and other
tertiary institutions, the need for such law was
imperative, to stop the trend of turning the
institutions from citadel of knowledge to
prostitution centers.
“After careful and detailed research on the
menace over the years, our position as
proposed in this Bill, is that since the female
students being negatively influenced by male
lecturers into sexual relationship are not
capable of giving voluntary consent to that
arrangement, there
is need for potent law to stop the immorality,”
he said.
Consequently, as stated in the Bill, an
educator “shall 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 for 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.
“Grabs, hugs, rubs or strokes or touches or
pinches the breasts or hair or lips or hips or
buttocks or any other sensual part of the body
of a student; displays, gives or sends by hand
or courier or electronic or any other means
naked or sexually explicit pictures or videos or
sex related objects to a student or whistle or
winks at a student or screams or exclaims or
jokes or makes sexually complimentary or in
complementary remarks about a student’s
physique.”
The senators added in the proposed Act that
penalty for the offences listed shall be five-
year jail term for any convicted person.
“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 fine.”
Similarly, to curb the wave of kidnapping
across the country, the Senate also
recommended death penalty for kidnappers.
This was sequel to its consideration of a
report on the crime compiled by a committee
headed by Senator Abu Ibrahim (APC, Katsina
South).
In the course of debating the report, the
senators adopted a prayer recommending a
death sentence for abductors in the country.
The recommendation for death penalty, as
adopted by the Senate, was made by Sen.
Adamu Aliero (APC, Kebbi Central).
While contributing to the report, the Senate
Minority Leader, Godswill Akpabio (Akwa
Ibom, PDP), regretted that kidnapping
escalated in the country when ex-governor,
and now Minister of Labour, Dr. Chris Ngige,
was kidnapped around 2002.
Other recommendations adopted by the
Senate were that “the funding of the security
agencies should be taken as a priority project,
bearing in mind that the practice of envelop
budget for security agencies have proved
ineffective.”
“Efforts should be geared towards creating
employment opportunities for our teeming
unemployed youths and security agencies
should embark on training and retraining of
personnel for effective capacity building,” he
said.
The Senate also tasked “state governments to
enact laws to enable security agencies to
prosecute kidnappers and other crime related
offences in their jurisdictions.”
It, in addition, recommended that “synergy and
intelligence sharing among security agencies
should be vigorously pursued; the Inspector-
General of Police and Director-General of the
Department of State Security in particular and
other security agencies should be
encouraged to do more.”
“It appears the security agencies have not
been able to perform optimally due to
inadequate funding to enable them procure
modern technology and equipment. It appears
to be unnecessary and unhealthy rivalry
amongst the security agencies leading to lack
of required
synergy and intelligence sharing on time.”
The Senate, however, regretted that “relations
of the victims are always ready to pay ransom
which tends to encourage the criminals.”
The session was presided over by the Senate
President, Dr. Bukola Saraki. http://www.blueprint.ng/2016/05/05/sexual-harassment-randy-lecturers-risk-5-year-jail-term-senate/

Should be 10years added with withdrawal to lecture any institution again..

I hope this will go a long way in reducing the level of injustice and victimisation meted on innocent student in tertiary institutions.

The idiot senators will not pass law that will affect them...
Waiting to hear when they will pass a law of life imprisonment for looting public fund..
Bunch of fools