Some students of the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, on Thursday, staged a protest around the school over alleged sexual harassment and intimidation in the institution.

The aggrieved students, mainly females, called on the Vice Chancellor of the institution, Prof. Charles Esimone, to release the Prof. Obi Oguejiofor panel report which indicted some members of staff.

As a result, they also petitioned the Federal Government to intervene and protect them against incessant sexual harassment which they claimed had been rocking the school in recent times.

The students wondered why nothing had been done to those indicted in the panel report.

One of the students, who gave her name simply as Ugonna, said, “The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Charles Esimone, set up the Prof. Obi Oguejiofor panel to look into cases of sexual harassment when he assumed office, but before then, other panels had been set up that tried and equally indicted the culprits, yet, nothing was done.

“Why are they not being punished or sacked? Why is the VC sitting on and hiding the Oguejiofor panel report? Even the married women among us are not free from harassment,” she added.

In their remarks, the students threatened to make the institution ungovernable if the Vice Chancellor and the management failed to sack the indicted lecturers within two weeks.

“The reason for this is that the institution wanted the students who made the allegations to come forward, but they refused, so that is the hindrance. You know, the university has to be careful so that it does not perpetrate miscarriage of justice, because if the lecturers concerned go to court, it will be a liability on the school.

“This is because the students who lay complaints don’t usually come forward to testify and what the institution has done is to warn the lecturers pending when the students would come to testify.

“The VC is meeting this afternoon with all the staff concerned to warn them that any act of intimidation or harassment will not be tolerated,” he concluded. (Punch)

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