Senate mulls five years jail term for ‘sex hawks’ in schools

The Senate on Wednesday revisited the sexual harassment bill which was sponsored by the Deputy Senate President, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege and passed by the 8th Senate.

A statement issued by the Special Assistant to the Senate President, Press, Ezrel Tabiowo, said the Bill which was introduced by the 8th Senate in October 2016 seeks a five-year jail term and five million naira fine for lecturers convicted for sexually harassing male or female students.

According to the bill, an educator will be “guilty of committing an offence of sexual harassment against a student if such person has sexual intercourse with a student who is less than 18 years of age; has sexual intercourse with a student or demands sex from a student or a prospective student as a condition to study in an institution, or as a condition for giving a passing grade or the granting of honour and scholarships.”

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The bill prescribes that: “Any person who commits any of the acts specified in Section 4 of this Act is guilty of an offence and shall, on conviction, be sentenced to imprisonment of up to five years, but not less than two years without any option of a fine.”

The bill, however, suffered a major setback as it was not given Presidential assent after its passage by the 8th Senate.
Some lawmakers, who were against its passage, had argued that it should be more inclusive and not discriminatory or targeted only at university lecturers.

The development may not be unconnected with the recent incident at the University of Lagos (UNILAG) where two lecturers have been suspended for sexual harassment.

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