The Senate on Wednesday gave its assent to a bill stipulating up to 14 years in custody for educators found guilty of sexually harassing students in tertiary institutions.
The development follows persistent reports of lecturers pressuring students for better grades, admission advantages, and other academic favours—a challenge widely documented in Nigerian universities over the years, including the 2019 “sex-for-grades” undercover investigation that revealed systemic abuse across some institutions.
The bill titled Sexual Harassment of Students (Prevention and Prohibition) Bill, 2025 (HB.1597), was introduced for concurrence by the Senate Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, APC, Ekiti Central. Bamidele clarified that the bill is intended to shield students from all forms of sexual impropriety and abuse within academic environments while providing clear legal guidelines for the prosecution and penalty of offenders.
The Ekiti lawmaker further asserted that the Bill is established to promote and safeguard ethical standards in tertiary education, the sacred nature of the student-educator trust-based relationship of authority, dependency, and respect for human dignity. According to the Senate, “Any person who perpetrates any of the offences or acts specified in clause 4 (1), (2) and (3) of this Bill is guilty of a serious crime and shall, on conviction, be given an imprisonment term of up to 14 years but not less than 5 years, without the option of a fine.
“(i) Any person who perpetrates any of the offences or acts specified in Clause 4 (4), (5) and (6) of this Bill is guilty of an offence and shall be subject on conviction to an imprisonment term of up to 5 years but not less than 2 years, without the option of a fine.” The bill states that a student who alleges harassment may also pursue a civil action for violation of fiduciary duty, and that the benchmark of proof shall be the same as in civil proceedings.
It delineates a broad range of offences, including soliciting sexual favours, making sexual advances, influencing others to commit harassment, and unwelcome touching or gestures.
Among other things, the new law adds that marriage between the educator and student is the sole defence, and that willingness shall not be considered a defence where an educator-student relationship exists. Sexual harassment complaints may be filed by the student, relatives, guardians or any concerned party to the Police or Attorney-General, with copies also submitted to the institution’s Independent Sexual Harassment Prohibition Committee,” it stated.
During the debate, some lawmakers called for the bill’s scope to be broadened.
The lawmaker representing Delta North, Senator Adams Oshiomhole contended that the legislation should also cover workplaces and other sectors.
“There is no necessity to restrict sexual harassment issues to students. We should formulate this law in a way that gives it universal coverage,” he pleaded. But the Deputy Senate President, Senator Barau Jibrin, who chaired the plenary, observed that the bill had already secured passage through the House of Representatives and was only open for concurrence.
Barau also explained that existing laws already tackle harassment in workplace settings.
The bill was subsequently adopted and cleared for third reading.
The enactment comes amid a series of reported sexual harassment scandals involving lecturers at universities in Lagos, Port Harcourt, Ilorin, Nsukka, Kano, Benin, and Abuja, with many complainants historically hesitant to pursue justice due to fear of victimisation, stigma, or unclear internal disciplinary systems. Activists and women’s rights groups have long maintained that a stronger federal legal framework was essential to break the cycle of silence.
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