Lecturer Assault: What Happens when Students Retaliate?

Quite an humongous attempt, there have been several instances of student-lecturer and lecturer-student assaults. But one surpasses another.

 

Student-lecturer assault, both verbal and physical ones usually come with strict punishments for students while, the constant comeuppance of the lecturer-student assaults attract a frequent burial of such issue on the altar of flimsy “sorry” or taciturning silence.

 

This nonchalant-cum-subjective  stance of tertiary institutions managements in Nigeria, has made so many students-leader on Nigerian campuses to call for the establishment of the Staff Disciplinarian Committee (SDC) just to make sure there is a regulatory body that check out the excesses of the tertiary institutions staff.

 

The SDC is expected to uphold the right of students, appreciate accountability of erring staff and punish any staff members who trespasses their boundaries on students.

 

No one, they say, is above the law. But this idea eventually sinks on the pedestal of daydreams and visions as managements of tertiary institutions perceived it as threat to staff. 

Based on this, while Students Disciplinarian Committee (SDC) continues to dish out expulsions, suspensions and different range of punishments to students who err campus rules and regulations; staff who go against norms and decided to sexually and physically assault students were allegedly pampered “silently” or covertly.

 

An instance of Professor Cyril Ndifon, who had been getting away with sexual assaults of female law students of the University of Calabar, with the management “silently” covering him, even, reinstated him as the Dean of Faculty, after a suspension on perceived sexual assaults, is worthy to be noted here.

 

Demons of raunchy Ndifon had their cup full in 2023 when some female students decided to protest against the lecher. There, it gets to the national TVs, then, straightaway catapulted the Professor to the court of DSS, courtesy, ICPC, activists, media organisations and indomitable yearnings of the affected students. Should the students not protest, the lecher will go on, enjoying his dear life with innocent “chicks”.

 

No sin is higher than the other right? He who physically assaults should be judged the same way, he, who sexually assault is judged. But In November, 2021, that wasn’t the case. The management of the University of Ilorin, very quickly expelled a student, Salaudeen Waliu Aanuoluwa of the Department of Microbiology, who was found guilty of assaulting a female lecturer of the same department. The erring student beat the woman to coma.

In Osun, same assault, same scenario, but a turn of subjects, let loose. An Osun State Polytechnic Iree, non-teaching staff physically assaulted, Folorunso Tobi, a female student of Mass communication (HND) in the institution’s examination hall.

 

The offence of Tobi was just that she told her mates “where to submit their answer booklets.” The angered invigilator, burning with the fiery furnace of violence, is said to be working in the counselling unit of the institution. He slapped her for directing her mates on the right place to submit their answer booklets and that was it.

 

An alumni of the institution, Ogunrinade Obaloluwa also known as Comrade Dudu, thinks the act “is shameful on the part of the lecturer for raising his hands to beat a woman.” To the former students-leader of the institution, “it shows the lecturer lacks culture and a good sense of humor to handle a lady or better said he must have been engaging in domestic violence at home with his wife.”

 

In his advice, Mr Ogunrinade Obaloluwa, said the school is known for Excellence in Character and Technology, as Stakeholders on campus, students has a right and the lecturer has a right. 

 

“The lady assaulted has a right as a student to lodge a formal complaint through the Directorate of Students affairs and it must be noted that in the Students Guide , that *NO STUDENT MUST ASSAULT A LECTURER , AND A LECTURER MUST NOT ASSAULT A STUDENT* , the lady assaulted in Question must work with the Student Leader to channel her case properly.”

 

When the PIJAlance Campus Desk heard about the incident, we swiftly contacted the newly appointed Dean, Student Affairs of the Institution, Dr Tope Abiola and he responded, three days after our contact, asking the affected student to make a formal report at his office.

 

This commemorates the former advice of Mr Obaloluwa.

 

The formal report made, however, finally ended up the fighting-non-teaching-staffer, only saying “sorry” to the student and nothing else. This, in all sense, culminated to the birth of unfairness and injustice which shouldn’t be at an institution expecting to train students for excellence in character.

 

Should Tobi, in another twist of event, land the cheeks of a lecturer in her Department with a thunderous dirty slap, the question is will she be allowed to only say “sorry?”

 

Read Also: UNILAG Lecturer Accused of Raping 20-Year-old