The Nigerian Senate has Passed the Sexual Harassment Bill

It’s finally done and signed.

The Nigerian Senate just passed the “Sexual Harassment Bill” that will have lecturers who sexually harass students facing the wrath of the law.

‪Students can now look forward to learning in a safe environment.

The Bill which was read the third time and passed, was a sequel to the consideration of the report of the Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters presented by the Chairman, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, All Progressives Congress, APC, Ekiti Central.

The bill, according to is titled “A Bill for an Act to Prevent, Prohibit and Redress Sexual Harassment of Students in Tertiary Educational Institutions and for other matters connected therewith 2019” but is popularly tagged “Sexual Harassment Bill,” was sponsored by the Deputy Senate President, Ovie Omo-Agege, and co-sponsored by 105 other Senators.

The bill states that those convicted would face a minimum jail term of 5 years, and it could go up to 14 years, with no option of fine.

The offences include:

• Sexual intercourse with a student,
• or demands for sex from a student or a prospective student,
• or intimidating or creating a hostile or offensive environment for the student by soliciting for sex or making sexual advances,
• or grabbing, hugging, kissing, rubbing, stroking, touching, pinching the breasts or hair or lips or hips or buttocks or any other sensual part of the body of a student,
• or sending by hand or courier or electronic or any other means naked or sexually explicit pictures or videos or sex-related objects to a student,
• or whistling or winking at a student,
• or screaming, exclaiming, joking or making sexually complimentary or uncomplimentary remarks about a student’s physique,
• or stalking a student.
• Students found to be falsely accusing a lecturer will face expulsion.

However, there are a few stages to get this signed into law, we look forward to the phase of President Muhammadu Buhari approving the bill into law.‬