THE authorities of the University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN), in Enugu State, have suspended a Lecturer in the General Studies (GS) Department of the institution, Mfonobong Udoudom, who was caught in a video allegedly harassing a married female student.
The university’s spokesperson, Dr. Okwunka Omeaku, in a statement on Tuesday, April 23, expressed the institution’s zero tolerance for sexual misconduct involving staff and students, noting: “UNN is among few universities in the country that has a sexual harassment policy, which guides the relationship between our staff and students in particular and among our male and female staff.”
Omeaku stated that the university would not hesitate to punish Udeudom, if he is found guilty by the school’s disciplinary panel, adding: “The management of the University of Nigeria has suspended Mr. (not a Professor) Mfonobong David Udoudom, a Lecturer in our General Studies division, who was caught in a video allegedly harassing a female student.”
The statement said: “The indefinite suspension is with immediate effect, pending the outcome of a disciplinary panel constituted by the university to investigate the incident.
“For the record, the University of Nigeria has a zero tolerance for sexual misconduct involving our staff and students. UNN is among the few universities in the country that has a Sexual Harassment Policy, which guides the relationship between our staff and students in particular and among our male and female staff.
“As a university, we are committed to protecting our students from any form of abuse and exploitation, and the university management will not hesitate to punish Mr. Mfonobong David Udoudom, according to our rules, if he is found guilty by our disciplinary panel.”
It was learned that the lecturer had vowed that the female student would never pass his course unless she allowed him to have carnal knowledge of her.
But trouble reportedly started shortly after the students had written his course in their examination, with the lecturer allegedly warning some female students that they would fail if they ‘failed to see him.’
The lady was said to have informed her husband, who also lodged a complaint with the university authorities, which asked the lady to play along.
In a viral video, the lecturer was reportedly caught pants down in an attempt to sexually abuse the student on and was allowed to wear a pair of boxers (inner shots) later.
His woes were compounded following his arrest by the Enugu State Police Command shortly after his suspension by the university authorities.
Meanwhile, a group of academic doctors in the Southeast has strongly condemned Udoudom’s action.
The Forum of South East Academic Doctors (FOSAD), in a statement on Tuesday, April 23, said the incident underscores the urgent need for universities and educational institutions to implement strict policies and procedures to prevent and address sexual harassment.
FOSAD, in the statement signed by its Secretary General, Dr. Uzor Ngoladi, called for a thorough and impartial investigation into the matter, urging the university management to take swift action to ensure that justice is served and measures are put in place to protect students from such misconduct in the future.
