Sexual Harassment: Randy Lecturers, Others Risk 5yrs In Jail As Senate Revisits Bill

Convicted randy lecturers and other sexual offenders in Nigeria will incur a five-year jail term and N5million fine once the Sexual Harassment Bill, 2019, becomes a law.

The Nigerian Senate on Wednesday revisited the bill which is being sponsored by Deputy Senate President, Ovie Omo-Agege, representing Delta Central senatorial district.

 The bill had been passed by the 8th Senate in 2016 but failed to scale through at the House of Representatives.

Lawmakers of the lower legislative chamber who kicked its passage at the time argued that it should be more inclusive and not discriminatory or targeted only at university lecturers.

The reintroduced bill recommends that an educator will be “guilty of committing an offence of sexual harassment against a student if he/she 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 to the giving of a passing grade or the granting of honour and scholarships.”

It 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.”