The Federal University Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE), Ekiti State, has constituted a panel to investigate allegations of sexual harassment against Dr Anthony Agbegbedia, a lecturer in the Department of Peace and Conflict Studies.
The university has also invited the student’s father who brought forward the accusations to the school management.
This development follows a report by SaharaReporters a week ago, where a final-year student alleged that Dr Agbegbedia had deliberately failed her after she refused to yield to his advances.
The student claimed that the lecturer had persistently harassed her and, after she rejected his inappropriate demands, he retaliated by manipulating her academic results.
Speaking with SaharaReporters on Monday, the father of the student said that the school management set up the panel after the story was published by SaharaReporters.
He said, “He sexually harassed my daughter, and now he has the audacity to threaten me with a lawsuit for N500,000,000, while at the same time sending his lawyer to beg me to settle the matter.
“This is the highest form of injustice. I won’t bow to such threats. I have instructed my lawyer to take legal action, and we shall meet in court. The school has invited me, and I will honour the invitation because I want justice for my daughter.
“Let me make it clear to him: I will not apologize. Let us meet in court. Someone who should be ashamed of his actions is now threatening me with a lawsuit. Let him go ahead.
He added that since the school management has set up a panel, he prays they investigate the matter without bias or partiality.
“I hope my daughter gets justice, but that won’t stop me from suing the lecturer for filing a N500,000,000 claim against me, despite the overwhelming evidence that he harassed her.”
Meanwhile, Dr. Anthony Agbegbedia’s lawyer, Peter Ekavwo Esq had called the student’s father to settle the matter.
The lawyer had said, “I understand that you are a father, and I’m sure you are trying to protect your daughter, which is commendable, sir. Okay. But we also believe that, as men, we are bound to make mistakes in life. Nobody is above mistakes, sir. When things like this occur, they are simply part of life.
“When these situations arise, it is important for us as humans to seek forgiveness and find a remedy.
“We are not even concerned about the fact that his reputation has been damaged because of this matter. Apart from SaharaReporters and various blogs, his students are calling him, and we are not focusing on that aspect at this moment.”
“We just want to seek your forgiveness and collaboration. As human beings, we all make mistakes, and the man has shown remorse. In those letters, I wish they had been addressed to him. We are aware of the situation, but the school didn’t seem to care or understand the damage this would cause. So, we are approaching this from a different angle, not just from the school’s perspective.
“We want to see how we can resolve this as his family. If we had known about all the issues sooner, we would have tried to resolve it earlier. Unfortunately, nobody informed us; we didn’t hear anything. We wrote to the school.
“We can work with you. Please tell us how you would like this issue to be resolved. Then we can work together towards a solution. That’s what I was suggesting. If you prefer a physical meeting, we can arrange that. If you would like to meet virtually, we can do that too. We can provide the necessary data, and then we can all connect online.”
“And then let’s discuss it. Let’s hear your side on why you want it resolved, and let’s hear your daughter’s side on how she wants it resolved. Then we can find a way to resolve it. That’s why I’m calling for this,” the lawyer said.
The student’s father had replied, “Okay, I will get back to you later, sir.”
SaharaReporters had earlier reported that Anthony Agbegbedia in a letter addressed to the student’s father and signed by Peter Ekavwo Esq. said his client did not fail the student due to her refusal of advances allegedly made to her.
The lecturer had demanded from the father an immediate retraction of the alleged libelous letter/publication in SaharaReporters and 6 (six) other online platforms/blogs and an express and unambiguous apology to be published in Sahara Reporters, with the same or greater prominence and circulation.
He explained that his client shall be compelled to commence a civil action at a competent court of law, for the enforcement of his civil rights and claim exemplary and general damages of N500,000,000 against him within 7 (seven) days of the receipt of the letter if the demands were ignored.