Rape incidents, bedbugs not peculiar to UNILAG, says VC

Vice Chancellor of University of Lagos (UNILAG), Prof Rahamon Adisa Bello has emphatically stated that issues of rape and bedbugs were not peculiar to the institution.

Reacting to several issues and protests, which have put the institution in a bad light recently, Bello said rape/sexual harassment is a national calamity, which several responsible institutions and human right agencies are striving to combat.

Citing the case of one Mr. Baruwa Afeez Akinfolarin of UNILAG, who, according to reports, was accused of raping 18-year admission seeker, he said findings revealed that the only relationship Baruwa had with UNILAG was that he was a former student of the university, where he did his undergraduate degree course at the Distance Learning Institute (DLI) and also his postgraduate degree course in the faculty of Business Administration.

He said since both the alleged rapist and the victim were neither our staff nor our student; UNILAG could not apply its law on them.

According to him, sexual harassment is not peculiar to UNILAG; it is a national calamity. So, don’t typify UNILAG as an institution of rape and sexual harassment.

On the recent bedbug protest by the students, he said: “Report worldwide has it that countries with highest quantum of bedbugs are United Arab Emirates and United States. Bedbugs also could be commonly found in hotels. And so, bedbug is not unique to anywhere and not even UNILAG.

“The mattresses that are currently in use at our hostels were changed in 2012. A mattress should be able to last for four years. Arrangements were already in place to replace all the mattresses come new session. But because we are not buying one or two mattresses, the procedure to purchase in federal government establishments is cumbersome, as you have to go through due process,” he said.