A lecturer in the Department of English, Faculty of Arts of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Dr. Adebayo Mosobalaje who was dismissed on Tuesday by the University Governing Council has described his sacking as unjustifiable.
In an exclusive interview with THE PUNCH on Wednesday, the lecturer faulted the judgement of the University authorities, maintaining that his dismissal was a wrong decision and vowed to appeal the case.
According to him, the Governing Council acted against the recommendations of the Joint Senate and Council Disciplinary Panel which investigated the case, adding that there was never a petition written against him by any student.
“The lady in question recorded the audio in 2017 but the University started the investigation in 2018. The Centre for Gender, an organ of the University wrote the letter of complaint on behalf of the lady. So, the Centre was the complaint and members of the Centre were also invited by the University Investigative Panel as witnesses.
“I appeared once before the Investigative Panel and also once before the Joint Senate and Council Disciplinary Panel which was the trial proper.
“I have been in the department since 2006, 15 years ago – and no previous case of harassment against me. I have not also received a query at all since I started my career.”
Mosobolaje further maintained that the dismissal is an infringement upon his fundamental human rights as guaranteed under the constitution as, according to him, there was no evidence of the crime levelled against him.
“The decision is a violation of my fundamental rights as enshrined in the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and therefore a travesty of justice.
“Just an instance, the report of the Joint Senate and Council Disciplinary Panel submitted that there was no evidence of harassment in the audio being the charge against me but went ahead to find me guilty on an account that I was not charged (lecturer-student relationship) which is not included in the list of misconduct in the University Code of Conduct", he added.
The University had on Tuesday in a statement announced the dismissal of the lecturer who is also an estwhile member of the Governing Council on account of alleged sexual misconduct against a female student.
The Council had based its judgement on the report of a Joint Committee of the Council and Senate which was claimed to had proved him guilty.
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