A Discernment and Apostasy watch site for African Saints.
Prove all things..(1 Thesa.5:21)
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Like the Bereans, check whether things are so(Acts 17:11)
Wednesday 23 October 2019
When the devils of sexual lust invaded West Africa’s Top Universities : Nigeria university suspends 'sex for grades' pastor : Sex for Grades: undercover inside Nigerian and Ghanaian universities - BBC Africa Eye documentary
Pastor Dr. Boniface Igbeneghu
The investigative piece which was spearheaded by BBC Africa
journalist Kiki Mordi showed Unilag professor Dr. Boniface Igbeneghu and
others trying to seduce young journalists posing as their students.
After the release of the documentary, Dr. Boniface was sacked by the
University of Lagos while his church where he is a preacher, Foursquare
Gospel Church have also asked him to step down from the pulpit.
Sex for Grades: undercover inside
Nigerian and Ghanaian universities - BBC Africa Eye documentary
Academic institutions in
West Africa have increasingly been facing allegations of sexual
harassment by lecturers. This type of abuse is said to be endemic, but
it’s almost never proven.
After gathering dozens of testimonies,
BBC Africa Eye sent undercover journalists posing as students inside the
University of Lagos and the University of Ghana.
Female
reporters were sexually harassed, propositioned and put under pressure
by senior lecturers at the institutions – all the while wearing secret
cameras.
Reporter Kiki Mordi, who knows first-hand how devastating
sexual harassment can be, reveals what happens behind closed doors at
some of the region’s most prestigious universities. How have
you been impacted by our investigation into sex for grades? If you would
like to share your experience with BBC Africa Eye
Nigeria university suspends 'sex for grades' pastor
The University of Lagos in Nigeria says it has suspended a lecturer
featured in a BBC documentary on sexual harassment at two top West
African universities.
This comes shortly after Boniface Igbeneghu, who is also a pastor, was suspended by his church. There has been an outcry on social media after a report by BBC’s
Africa Eye revealed secret footage of Dr Igbeneghu propositioning and
sexually harassing an undercover reporter, posing as a prospective
student.
The Foursquare church, where the lecturer was also a pastor, said in a
statement it does not condone sexual misconduct, and has distanced
itself from Dr Igbeneghu’s alleged behaviour. The BBC report is part of a year-long investigation into sexual
harassment by professors at the University of Lagos and the University
of Ghana.
The University of Lagos says it has a zero-tolerance policy toward
sexual harassment, and it would dismiss any staff against whom evidence
of wrongdoing was proven. The University of Ghana categorically denies protecting any staff or
students who have engaged in sexual harassment, and says it will
investigate those named in the report. Dr Igbeneghu has not commented on the video.
Nigeria lecturer suspended after BBC Africa Eye 'sex-for-grades' film
The University of Lagos has
suspended a lecturer who was caught on film propositioning and sexually
harassing an undercover BBC reporter.
Boniface Igbeneghu, also a pastor, has been condemned by his church. He was one of several academics secretly filmed as part of a year-long investigation by BBC Africa Eye.
The
film, which has sparked widespread social media comment, explored
alleged sexual harassment by members of staff at two top West African
universities. A number of high-profile figures, including
celebrities and politicians, have joined in the conversation about the
issues it raised.
The report also saw students, some with their identities hidden, making allegations about their own experiences with professors. Dr Igbeneghu has made no comment.
The
academic was filmed putting inappropriate questions and requests toward
a BBC journalist, who was posing as a prospective student aged 17. On
a final meeting between the pair, the lecturer was filmed physically
harassing her and asking to kiss her inside of his locked office. He
also appeared to threaten to tell her mother if she was "disobedient"
towards him.
Image caption
Dr Igbeneghu was secretly filmed by BBC Africa Eye
A number of other students in the film also made
allegations of abuse against the lecturer. One former student of Dr
Igbeneghu, whose identity was protected, claimed the experience has led
her to attempt suicide several times.
The University of Lagos, in
response, held an emergency meeting on Monday where Dr Igbeneghu was
immediately suspended and barred from campus. In a statement, the
university said it was "highly embarrassed" by the allegations and
pledged to do "all that is necessary" to investigate and combat the
"menace" of harassment at the institution. It also said it had
closed down a staff function room known as the "cold room" which was
identified in the film as a secretive site where students were allegedly
taken.
The Foursquare church, where Dr Igbeneghu is a pastor, have also
distanced themselves from him in a statement. They said the church does
not condone "heinous and unscriptural" acts from ministers and asked
him to step down.
What else did the film show?
The full hour-long documentary also featured interactions with two lecturers at the University of Ghana. Both
of the men, Professor Ransford Gyampo and Dr Paul Kwame Butakor, have
denied they were offering "sex for grades" in the undercover exchanges. Prof Gyampo has also suggested to local media that he plans to take legal action against the BBC.
Image caption
Dr Igbeneghu office was photographed sealed shut on Tuesday
The University of Ghana has categorically denied protecting any staff or students who have engaged in sexual harassment. On
Tuesday the chairperson of the university's anti-sexual harassment
committee said the two men would be investigated over the documentary,
but said the film did not prove they offered grades for sex, local media
are quoting her as saying.
What has the reaction been?
The BBC exposé has provoked a large response on social media in the two countries. Many
Twitter users condemned the actions seen on the film and called for a
swift response, while others shared their own alleged experiences.
Journalist
Kiki Mordi, who fronted the documentary, opened up about her own
experience of university harassment which led her to drop out and
abandon career ambitions to work in medicine. Inspired by the report, other women have been sharing their experiences of alleged harassment with the BBC.
"I
felt extremely threatened," one Nigerian graduate told BBC Newsday on
Tuesday. "Even before I got to university I heard stories about this man
- I had friends who were sexually harassed by him." She described feeling so intimidated by the staff member that she delayed submitting work to him. "We are the students and we have more to lose. There is no balance of power here," she added. Another
woman, named Catherine, said the practice happens "a lot" at
universities in Ghana. She told the BBC's Outside Source that she wept
"like a baby" after being asked out by a lecturer in exchange for good
grades.
"Unfortunately because there's no good systems in place,
when you [make a] report they ask you for evidence and because you don't
have evidence it's rubbished and you end up being victimised," she
said.
Professor Ransford Gyampo and Dr Paul Kwame Butakor were filmed by undercover BBC reporters
Two Ghanaian lecturers suspended after BBC Africa Eye 'Sex For Grades' film
9 October 2019
Two Ghanaian lecturers who were
secretly filmed sexually harassing undercover BBC reporters have been
suspended pending an investigation.
University of Ghana lecturers
Ransford Gyampo and Dr Paul Kwame Butakor propositioned journalists
posing as students for a BBC documentary.
Both Professor Gyampo and Dr Butakor denied any wrongdoing. The suspensions follow similar action against two lecturers in Nigeria, who were also filmed by the BBC.
Footage
of the University of Ghana lecturers was broadcast on Monday as part of
a documentary by the BBC's Africa Eye investigative unit, exposing
sexual harassment and misconduct by lecturers at prestigious
institutions in West Africa.
The University of Ghana said Professor Gyampo and Dr Butakor had been called to appear before a committee to give evidence.
Speaking after the broadcast of the film, the
chairperson of the Anti-Sexual Harassment and Misconduct Committee at
the University of Ghana, condemned the conduct of the Ghanaian lecturers
seen in the footage. "Unacceptable, inappropriate behaviour that
is really an affront to their positions as lecturers at the University
of Ghana," Dr Margaret Amoakohene told the BBC's Thomas Naadi in Accra. She said the committee would make recommendations to the university authorities only after an investigation had concluded. "What
we are doing now is to open our doors to other victims to come and
testify to us as to what their experiences have been, whether they are
current students or past students," she said. "We invite them to come
and tell us." In a statement published on Tuesday, the University
of Ghana said it had created "additional communication channels" for
members of the university community to report harassment, including a
dedicated email address: hearmystory@ug.edu.gh.
