The Senate has passed a bill prescribing up to 14 years imprisonment for lecturers and educators found guilty of sexually harassing students in tertiary institutions across the country.
The legislation, titled the Sexual Harassment of Students (Prevention and Prohibition) Bill, 2025 (HB.1597), seeks to check sexual misconduct in academic environments and provide stronger legal protection for students.
Presenting the bill for concurrence, Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele (APC, Ekiti Central) said the measure was designed to restore discipline and safeguard students from abuse by those entrusted with their learning.
Bamidele explained that the bill provides for five to fourteen years’ imprisonment for offenders, with no option of fine, while lesser but related offences attract two to five years in jail without a fine.
“This law will ensure that the classroom remains a place of knowledge and mentorship, not exploitation,” Bamidele told lawmakers. “It reinforces the values of trust and respect that must define teacher-student relationships.”
The legislation lists various acts that constitute sexual harassment, including soliciting sexual favours, making unwanted advances, or creating a hostile academic environment. It also criminalises inappropriate touching, sending explicit materials, and making sexually suggestive comments.
Importantly, the law states that consent shall not be a defence where a lecturer-student relationship exists. The only recognised exception is when both parties are legally married.
The bill empowers students or their representatives including family members, guardians, or legal advisers to file complaints directly with the Nigeria Police Force, the Attorney-General, or the institution’s Sexual Harassment Prohibition Committee, which every tertiary institution will now be required to establish.
During deliberation, Senator Adams Oshiomhole (APC, Edo North) supported the bill but urged lawmakers to broaden its scope to include harassment in workplaces and public institutions.
“There is no need to limit this law to schools,” Oshiomhole argued. “Sexual harassment occurs in offices, agencies, and political spaces. Everyone deserves protection.”
However, Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin (APC, Kano North), who presided over the session, clarified that since the bill was transmitted from the House of Representatives for concurrence, it could not be amended at that stage.
He added that other existing laws already address workplace harassment, while this legislation specifically targets the education sector, where such cases have become increasingly frequent.
The passage of the bill follows years of public concern over “sex-for-grades” scandals that have rocked universities in Lagos, Port Harcourt, Ilorin, Nsukka, Kano, Benin, and Abuja.
Women’s rights advocates have commended the National Assembly for the move, describing it as a significant victory for victims of sexual abuse in academic institutions.
“This bill is a strong message that no lecturer or academic staff will get away with exploiting students anymore,” said a women’s rights campaigner in Abuja. “It’s a major win for accountability and justice in our campuses.”
With the concurrence completed, the bill will now be transmitted to the President for assent. Once signed into law, it will criminalise sexual harassment in tertiary institutions and mandate schools to establish independent bodies to handle related complaints.
Observers say the legislation marks a major step toward cleaning up Nigeria’s higher education system and protecting the integrity of learning spaces.
“This is a bold step towards restoring public confidence in our universities,” an education analyst noted. “It tells students that their dignity matters and that justice will be served when lines are crossed.”
, Approves 14-Year Jail Term for Lecturers Guilty of Sexual Harassment
By Treasure Chisa Achor
The Senate has passed a bill prescribing up to 14 years imprisonment for lecturers and educators found guilty of sexually harassing students in tertiary institutions across the country.
The legislation, titled the Sexual Harassment of Students (Prevention and Prohibition) Bill, 2025 (HB.1597), seeks to check sexual misconduct in academic environments and provide stronger legal protection for students.
Presenting the bill for concurrence, Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele (APC, Ekiti Central) said the measure was designed to restore discipline and safeguard students from abuse by those entrusted with their learning.
Bamidele explained that the bill provides for five to fourteen years’ imprisonment for offenders, with no option of fine, while lesser but related offences attract two to five years in jail without a fine.
“This law will ensure that the classroom remains a place of knowledge and mentorship, not exploitation,” Bamidele told lawmakers. “It reinforces the values of trust and respect that must define teacher-student relationships.”
The legislation lists various acts that constitute sexual harassment, including soliciting sexual favours, making unwanted advances, or creating a hostile academic environment. It also criminalises inappropriate touching, sending explicit materials, and making sexually suggestive comments.
Importantly, the law states that consent shall not be a defence where a lecturer-student relationship exists. The only recognised exception is when both parties are legally married.
The bill empowers students or their representatives including family members, guardians, or legal advisers to file complaints directly with the Nigeria Police Force, the Attorney-General, or the institution’s Sexual Harassment Prohibition Committee, which every tertiary institution will now be required to establish.
During deliberation, Senator Adams Oshiomhole (APC, Edo North) supported the bill but urged lawmakers to broaden its scope to include harassment in workplaces and public institutions.
“There is no need to limit this law to schools,” Oshiomhole argued. “Sexual harassment occurs in offices, agencies, and political spaces. Everyone deserves protection.”
However, Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin (APC, Kano North), who presided over the session, clarified that since the bill was transmitted from the House of Representatives for concurrence, it could not be amended at that stage.
He added that other existing laws already address workplace harassment, while this legislation specifically targets the education sector, where such cases have become increasingly frequent.
The passage of the bill follows years of public concern over “sex-for-grades” scandals that have rocked universities in Lagos, Port Harcourt, Ilorin, Nsukka, Kano, Benin, and Abuja.
Women’s rights advocates have commended the National Assembly for the move, describing it as a significant victory for victims of sexual abuse in academic institutions.
“This bill is a strong message that no lecturer or academic staff will get away with exploiting students anymore,” said a women’s rights campaigner in Abuja. “It’s a major win for accountability and justice in our campuses.”
With the concurrence completed, the bill will now be transmitted to the President for assent. Once signed into law, it will criminalise sexual harassment in tertiary institutions and mandate schools to establish independent bodies to handle related complaints.
Observers say the legislation marks a major step toward cleaning up Nigeria’s higher education system and protecting the integrity of learning spaces.
“This is a bold step towards restoring public confidence in our universities,” an education analyst noted. “It tells students that their dignity matters and that justice will be served when lines are crossed.”
