Northern university dismisses lecturer for sexually harassing student

Dr. Usman Mohammed Aliyu, a senior lecturer at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU), Bauchi, has been dismissed from the service of the institution following findings of sexual harassment involving a student. The school’s Governing Council made the decision based on the recommendation of the Senior Staff Disciplinary Committee, which found Dr. Aliyu guilty of misconduct after a thorough investigation. This is contained in ATBU HERALD, a Special Bulletin released on April 22, 2025, which disclosed that dismissal was approved during the Council’s 96th regular meeting held on Friday, April 11, 2025. In the dismissal letter signed by Abdullahi Sulaiman, the Senior Deputy Registrar of the Senior Staff Establishment, the lecturer was found guilty of an “indecent relationship” with a postgraduate student, Mrs. Kamila Rufai Aliyu, from the Department of Chemical Engineering in the Faculty of Engineering and Engineering Technology. ALSO READ: UNN suspends lecturer over alleged sexual harassment of student “The Council has subsequently approved your dismissal from the service of the University with immediate effect. You are hereby directed to hand over all property of the University in your possession to your Head of Department and your identification card to the Chief Security Officer,” the letter partly read. According to the bulletin, the dismissal was aligned with Chapter 3, Item F, I (o), of the University’s Senior Staff Conditions of Service. In 2024, Mrs Aliyu formally petitioned the University management, alleging that Aliyu sexually harassed her and threatened to stall her academic progress if she didn’t comply with his demands. To counter the allegations, the lecturer filed a defamation lawsuit against the student, her department, and the University last year. ALSO READ: Akpabio faces renewed call to step aside amid sexual harassment allegation