Published 17th Apr, 2022

By Daniel Ojukwu

More allegations of sexual harassment have been levelled against Akindele Omotosho, a lecturer in the Department of Mass Communication, Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH), Yaba, Lagos.

Following FIJ’s report on how the lecturer allegedly sexually harassed a female student in his office on April 7, former students of the department have come out to share related experiences.

Some of the victims said they were too scared back then to turn down Omotosho’s advances for fear of victimization and attack on their academic life.

One Suliat Adisa (name altered to protect identity) told FIJ that the lecturer made several advances at her in 2020. She said the period coincided with when she just got proposed to by her husband. Adisa also claimed she was nursing a child when the events occurred.

“One of my friends told me he was always making sexual advances towards her, but I did not initially believe,” Adisa said.

“One day, I went to his office to collect my departmental souvenir, that was when he started ‘toasting me’.

“I told him I was engaged and had a daughter. He said I was lying. The following week, I had to bring my daughter to school so he could see her. Despite all the proofs I showed him, Omotosho said they all don’t mean a thing. He finished by saying that I am just engaged and not yet married.”

Adisa also said that despite choosing to never return to the lecturer’s office again, he would continue to send her text messages.

“In those messages, he would say how he wished he could just have me once,” Adisa said.

The former student also added that she would constantly delete the messages to prevent her husband from finding out about how he had been harassing her.

“After I wrote his exam, I was privileged to see my result. I had 83/100 in the exam, but he gave me a D,” Adisa said.

“Later he asked whether I had seen my result. In response, I ‘prayed’ for him, saying his children be rewarded in multiple folds because of how he had messed up my result.”

HE KISSED ME TOO AND TEXTED AN APOLOGY

Caroline Maduagwu (not real name) was convinced Omotosho would help with her academic challenges while she was still a student of the department. At the time, the lecturer was also her course adviser.

However, the conviction she had would soon vanish when the lecturer demanded to have a ‘relationship’ with her. He would also constantly ask her to come ‘spend time’ with him at a lodge.

“One day, he invited me to his office and kissed me. He was expecting me to come again the next day, but, I decided not to show up,” said Maduagwu in a chat with FIJ.

Akindele Omotosho's text to Maduagwu — Akindele Omotosho’s text to Maduagwu

“He also made mention of him lodging around the school premises, saying I could always come around so as to spend time with him. I even told all my friends about his incessant advances. He would call me at night and ask me to say yes to him.

“One night one of my roommates overheard when he threatened me on the phone saying, ‘I won’t force you to date me, but I’m sure you’ll come back begging!.”

HE SHOWED ME HATE FOR YEARS AND IN THE END, WANTED TO SLEEP WITH ME

A third victim told FIJ that she was victimized by the same lecturer all through her years at the institution as a student.

According to her, Omotosho instructed a male coursemate to assist him in booking accommodation at a lodge, so he could have a ‘private moment’ with her. She claimed she was in her final year when the incident happened.

“He had the guts to tell someone to assist him in getting a room so that he could invite me over! To come and do what? Thank God the guy knew I was crazy and decided not to tell me until after our results came out,” the former student said.

“That man showed me hate for years, and then, just when I am in my final semester, he now wants to sleep with me? He must be mad!”

More sources told FIJ they were always scared to go to Omotosho’s office, and would sometimes claim they were dating an executive in the students’ association, in a bid to stop him from further harassments.

FIJ approached Omotosho for comments, but he had not responded at press time.

He had also verbally abused an FIJ reporter when he was earlier approached for comments over the initial allegation that was levelled against him.

It has also been alleged that, just like Omotosho, some other lecturers of the institution are also in the habit of making sexual advances at students. Some of them have been accused of attempted rape, groping and results manipulation.

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