Unizik Vice Chancellor Prof Charles Esimone has demonstrated his commitment to maintaining a safe learning environment. This commitment was evident as he took decisive action by removing a lecturer from the Faculty of Law, Mr. Afam Ezeaku, following allegations of sexual harassment. These developments were confirmed by the Special Adviser to the Vice Chancellor on Public Relations and Special Duties, Dr. Emmanuel Ojukwu, in a press release issued to journalists on Friday.
Dr. Ojukwu clarified that there were no protests regarding sexual harassment within the university, despite media reports to the contrary. These reports had previously quoted protesters claiming that the Vice Chancellor had not acted upon a report submitted by a panel led by Prof. Obi Oguejiofor, which had indicted Mr. Ezeaku.
In his statement, Dr. Ojukwu emphasized, “It is important to state that there was no protest of any sort in the university. However, there is an ongoing investigation concerning alleged sexual harassment by some lecturers. The Vice Chancellor immediately removed the affected lecturers from their official positions and issued strong warning letters to those in the affected departments.”
One of the challenges faced by the university in this matter is the reluctance of the students who alleged sexual harassment to come forward and testify before the investigation panel.
Dr. Ojukwu went on to say that the Vice Chancellor had summoned the affected departments to a meeting, where he expressed the university’s strong disapproval of such actions and warned all lecturers and staff to refrain from any behavior that would tarnish the university’s reputation.
Furthermore, he stressed that the university management was committed to taking severe disciplinary action against any staff members found guilty of molesting or sexually harassing students. To facilitate reporting, the Vice Chancellor has made a dedicated telephone number available for students to report all forms of harassment, especially sexual harassment.
Dr. Ojukwu concluded by assuring students of the university’s renewed determination to protect them and treat all allegations of sexual harassment with the utmost seriousness and confidentiality.
This development comes as the university takes proactive steps to address allegations of sexual harassment and maintain a safe and conducive learning environment for its students
