ABU Sacks Professor For Intimate Harassment

Professor David Kolo of the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria has been dismissed from the institution for sexually harassing one of his female students, Weekly Trust exclusively reports.

This followed the endorsement of the recommendation of a disciplinary committee set up to investigate Professor Kolo of ABU’s faculty of education by the governing council of the university.

Kolo was earlier sentenced to two months imprisonment by a court in Jigawa State, after he was found guilty of attempting to force his female student to accept his sex advances. The student, who is a married woman, had through her husband informed security agents.

An impeccable source, close to the ABU’s governing council, said the council had on Wednesday, during its meeting, approved the dismissal of the professor.

“You know the professor was queried by the university authorities but he refused to answer the query. He also refused to honour the invitation of the disciplinary committee that was set up to investigate the issue. The committee was left with no option than to present its report to the governing council after investigation”, the source told Weekly Trust.

“The governing council, which is the body that is vested with powers of employing and dismissing staff, considered the report and approved the dismissal of the professor. We hope this would serve as deterrence to other staff that may want to engage in such acts of indiscipline,” it added.
In his reaction to the whole episode, the chairman of ABU-ASUU, Dr. Muhammad Kabir Aliyu, said ASUU is a responsible organization, and as such it frowns at any act that would demean the association.

“I heard about the setting up of the council committee and the invitation extended to the Professor, but I am not a member. We always advise our members not to engage in acts that would demean their character and that of our organization. Therefore, we are not happy with what the Professor did. I am not in town, so, I did not hear about the dismissal,” Dr. Aliyu said.

Mallam Ahmad Abdullahi Kundila, the Ag Registrar of the university, who doubles as the secretary of ABU’s governing council, according to our source, was assigned by the council to serve the Professor with the dismissal letter.

Malam Kundila was said to be very busy at his office with administrative matters when Weekly Trust visited and his mobile phone was switched off from morning to evening of yesterday.
But some lecturers interviewed by our correspondent at the main campus of the university commended the action of the council, saying that other officials of the university that engage in such acts would have a lesson to learn.