The Governing Council of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife has dismissed Dr. Adebayo Mosobalaje, a lecturer at the Department of English Language in the Faculty of Art, who was allegedly found guilty of sexual demeanor against a female student.
This was announced in a statement by the university’s Public Relations Officer of the University, Abiodun Olarewaju, titled, ‘Sexual harassment: OAU dismisses another lecturer’, on Tuesday.
But when contacted for comment, Mosobolaje neither picked his telephone calls nor responded to a text message sent to him.
The statement read, “In its avowed determination to rid the University of any form of sexual intimidation, harassment and, or coercion, the Governing Council of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, has dismissed another lecturer who was found guilty of sexual demeanor against a female student.
“The decision to dismiss Dr. Adebayo Mosobalaje of the Department of English Language in the Faculty of Arts was taken by the University Council at its last sitting on Tuesday, September 7th, 2021.
“Having exhaustively deliberated on the report of the Joint Committee of Council and Senate, which investigated the case of sexual harassment against Mosobalaje, the University Council, unambiguously declared its zero tolerance to sexual harassment in any form or guise and, accordingly, applied the appropriate University sanctions for such an offence as contained in the University regulation.”
The lecturer was accused of breaching the provisions of the university’s Code of Conduct “in the manner he related with a student of the department” in a report by the university’s joint committee of council and Senate.
A reports by the PUNCH noted that the female student was admitted into OAU in 2013 but had outstanding courses.
In 2017, the female student was said to have visited Mosobalaje in his office for further instructions on her final year project work when the alleged sexual assault reportedly happened.
On July 5, 2018, a petition that indicted the lecturer was sent to the university’s vice-chancellor, Eyitope Ogunbodede.
Based on the report, an investigative panel was set up by the VC and the lecturer had to resign as a member of the university’s governing council representing the convocation.
Mosobolaje denied the allegations when he appeared before the investigative panel.
Credit: PUNCH
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