A panel that investigated Vice Chancellor Abayomi Fasina of the Federal University Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE) for sexually harassing Folasade Adebayo, a university staffer, resolved that he did not commit any offence because the duo used to exchange “gifts” and mandated the woman to tender an apology.

While the panel submitted its report on March 14, the university’s governing council announced its decision on April 9.

FIJ had reported how Fasina resorted to intimidating Adebayo following her refusal to entertain his sexual request. This report prompted the Governing Council, chaired by Victor Ndoma-Egba, to constitute the investigating panel on January 24.

Sensing Fasina’s desperation and abuse of official powers against her, Adebayo’s husband advised her to document some of their conversations for evidential purposes.

READ ALSO: FUOYE VC Fasina Sent on 6-Month Leave Although ‘It Should Have Been a Suspension’

However, the panel resolved that recording the conversations without Fasina’s consent was an offence.

The panel’s seven-page report, obtained by FIJ, stated that the relationship between the duo was friendly because they had exchanged gifts in the past. It also claimed that the queries Fasina issued Adebayo after his sexual request fell flat were due to the woman’s professional negligence.

Aside from clearing Fasina of sexual misconduct, the panel said Abdulahi Salihu Jibrin and Alkali Aji Kolo, both former council members at FUOYE whom Fasina had earlier confessed to bribing, denied collecting any money from the vice chancellor.

READ MORE: FUOYE Governing Council Orders Staff Sexually Harassed by VC Fasina to Apologise

The panel exonerated Fasina of any crime. However, while declaring him innocent, nowhere in the report did the panel mention investigating the money trail between Jibrin, Kolo, Fasina and the school’s bank statements covering the period of concern.

Below are details of the report:

FINDINGS

After exhaustive interaction with the parties involved and the evaluation of available documents, the following findings were made by the Committee:

i. the source of the viral audio recording regarding the alleged immoral moves by the Vice-Chancellor came from the Engr. Folasade Adebayo;

ii. from the two audios the Committee listened to, the voices are that of Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Abayomi S. Fasina and Engr. Folasade Adebayo;

iii. there was friendly relationship between the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Abayomi S. Fasina and Engr. Folasade Adebayo

iv. the viral audio recordings indicated the existence of cordiality between Engr. Folasade Adebayo and Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Abayomi S. Fasina;

v. Engr. Folasade Adebayo kept the two recordings to herself until the Management began to issue her successive queries toward the end of her tenure as Ag. Director when there were compromises on her professional duties;

vi. the audio recordings gained access to the public domain through Engr. Folasade Adebayo who gave a copy of the tapes to the executives of the Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Universities (SSANU) FUOYE Chapter and others;

vii. Engr. Folasade Adebayo on the advice of her husband recorded the audio as evidence of love advances made by the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Abayomi S. Fasina towards her;

viii. there existed a friendly relationship between the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Abayomi S. Fasina and Engr. Folasade Adebayo in the course of and towards the expiration of her tenure as Ag. Director, Works and Services;

ix. this friendly relationship was demonstrated through exchange of gifts between Engr. Folasade Adebayo and the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Abayomi S. Fasina;

x. Engr. Folasade Adebayo enjoyed special concessions such as backdated promotions and extended tenure as Ag. Director by Prof. Abayomi S. Fasina- led Management;

xi. there was nothing in the viral audio recordings which indicated that Engr. Folasade Adebayo was sexually harassed by the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Abayomi S. Fasina;

xii. based on the letter made available to the Committee from the Nigeria Police Force dated 28th January, 2025 and the statement of Engr. Folasade Adebayo there was no sexual harassment by the Vice-Chancellor against Engr. Adebayo;

xiii, none of the documents made available by Engr. Folasade Adebayo showed any allegation of sexual harassment;

xiv. Engr. Folasade Adebayo deliberately recorded her conversation with the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Abayomi S. Fasina without his consent;

xv. Engr. Folasade Adebayo alluded to the fact that she recorded the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Abayomi S. Fasina deliberately to provide evidence against him;

xvi. the Registrar and Bursar were blackmailed by FIJ through the audio made available to them by Engr. Folasade Adebayo;

xvii. evidence revealed that the queries issued Engr. Folasade Adebayo were based on her professional negligence; and

xviii. efforts by the Nigeria Police Force, the Kayode Ojo led Governing Council, other groups and individuals did not produce positive result as Engr. Folasade Adebayo was not satisfied.

xix. on the 17th September, 2024, Engr. Folasade Adebayo wrote a letter to the former Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of Council, Engr. Kayode Ojo, titled: Expression of gratitude and Record of Grievances (see Appendix xiii);

xx. on the 4th December, 2024, Engr. Folasade Adebayo’s family wrote to the Minister of Education, titled: Expression of fear and record of grievances: A call for urgent help (see Appendix xiv);

xxi. on the 20th December, 2024, Engr. Folasade Adebayo wrote a letter to the current Pro-Chancelor and Chairman of Council, Sen. Victor Ndoma-Egba, SAN, titled: Request for intervention and provision of further information on intimidation by the Vice-Chancellor;

xxii. on the 17th September, 2024, the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Abayomi S. Fasina wrote to the immediate past Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of Council, Engr. Kayode Ojo, titled: Re: my response to letter of Engr. Adebayo titled ‘Request for intervention and provision of further information on intimidation;

xxiii. on the 20th December, 2024, the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Abayomi S. Fasina wrote to the current Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of Council, Sen. Victor Ndoma-Egba, SAN, titled: Re: my response to letter of Engr. Folasade Adebayo titled ‘request for intervention and provision of further information on intimidation;

11.0 OBSERVATIONS

i. there was a cordial relationship between the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Abayomi S. Fasina and Engr. Folasade Adebayo which was beneficial to both of them and can be traced to exchange of gifts;

ii. that Engr. Folasade Adebayo recorded conversations between her and the Vice-Chancellor. Prof. Abayomi S. Fasina which were done without the knowledge and consent of the Vice-Chancellor;

iii. that Engr. Folasade Adebayo deliberately recorded the Vice-Chancellor for her further use such as to pressure the Vice-Chancellor to appoint her as a substantive Director of Works and Services and for other purposes;

iv. there is no evidence to prove the allegation pertaining to the purported purchase of the positions of Registrar and Bursar;

v. Engr. Folasade Adebayo and her family deliberately went outside the official channels of communication in the University to report official matters or grievances to FUOYE SSANU and the Minister of Education respectively;

vi. that Engr. Folasade Adebayo was not wrongly removed from office, rather her tenure ended and she was not reappointed as Ag. Director;

vii. that the Fasina led Management erred by unethically backdating the promotion of Engr. Folasade Adebayo by eight years. This was a sheer favoritism; and

viii. based on the audio recordings, the statement by the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Abayomi S. Fasina that he paid Ten Million (N10,000,000.00) each for the appointments of the Registrar and Bursar was refuted by Mr. Abdulahi Salihu Jibrin and Alkali Aji Kolo and that they did not receive money from anybody.

ix. the immediate past Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of Council, Engr. Kayode Ojo opted for reconciliation meeting between Engr. Folasade Adebayo and Prof. Abayomi S. Fasina which was unresolved;

x. as a way forward, Engr. Folasade Adebayo requested that all the queries issued to her within the period should be withdrawn, her promotion should be sustained and her name should be cleared.

12. RECOMMENDATIONS

After very exhaustive deliberations on the terms of reference and in the interest of peace, restoration of harmony and stability within the University, the Committee recommends as follows:

1. Engr. Folasade Adebayo should be warned by the Governing Council for:

a) breaching the right of privacy by recording conversations between herself and the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Abayomi S. Fasina without his knowledge and consent, by releasing audio recordings to the press; and

b) for her failure to follow the approved communication channel in the University to express her grievances;

2. The Fasina-led Management should also be warned for:

a) renewal of Engr. Folasade Adebayo’s appointment as Ag. Director, Works and Services twice; and b) backdating Engr. Folasade Adebayo’s promotion to 2015 in 2024.

3. The Faleye-led FUOYE SSANU chapter should be warned for:

a) disregarding the office of the newly appointed Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of Council in an attempt to express grievance;

b) by misinforming the public about the events in the University through the press thereby tarnishing the image of the University; and

c) the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Abayomi S. Fasina should be advised to be more careful about his relationship with subordinates.

4. Letters should be written to the two former members of Council (Mr. Abdulahi Salihu Jibrin and Alkali Aji Kolo), the Registrar and Bursar exonerating them from the false allegation.

5. the University Management should ensure that:

a) a robust on-boarding programme be put in place where no new staff commences duty without participating in the programme; and

b) staff abides by the Council’s decisions on all issues.

6. The position of substantive Directors of Physical Planning and Works and Services should be immediately advertised;

7. Council should set up a reconciliatory Committee to look into all aggrieved staff members in the University; and

8. Engr. Folasade Adebayo should write a letter of apology to the University Governing Council, for putting the name of the University into disrepute.

SOME MEMBERS ARE FASINA’S SYMPATHISERS

The council had publicly claimed that the panel had nine members. Contrary to this, the final report involved ten people who signed as members while one person signed as “in-attendance”.

While most of the committee members were Fasina’s subordinates, some had publicly sided with him and defended him long before they were tasked with the investigation.

For instance, Barr. Lawrence A. Eni is a deputy legal director for the school whom Fasina had spoken about in an audio recording. Somehow, he was a signatory to the report absolving Fasina of misconduct.

Joshua Ogunwole is a deputy vice chancellor of administration at FUOYE, and he once answered to the vice chancellor.

Temitope Arogundade, FUOYE Alumni president, was a sympathiser of Fasina. In a news report published on the university’s website on November 24 and archived here, he urged the council to dismiss the case.

“The Alumni Association stands firmly behind Professor Fasina, affirming our steadfast confidence in his leadership capabilities. The recent claims put forth by the Faleye led caucus of SSANU FUOYE lack substance and serve merely to divert attention from the significant advancements achieved during his leadership. It is profoundly disheartening to witness the emergence of baseless allegations from individuals who, instead of acknowledging the Vice Chancellor’s achievements, opt to pursue personal grievances,” Arogundade said.

Meanwhile, FIJ recently reported that Fasina that obtained a court injunction to prevent the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) from investigating him over the misconduct claims.