Sex-for-Grade: ICPC Drags Don to Court

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission has arraigned a lecturer of the Tai Solarin University of Education for allegedly demanding sexual and monetary gratification from a female student of the institution.

The defendant, Dr Balogun Olaniran, was on Monday, March 27, brought before Justice Osinuga of the Ijebu-Ode High Court, sitting in Ijebu Ode, Ogun State, by the ICPC on a one-count charge of violating Section 8(1) (a) of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000.

The spokesperson for the anti-graft agency, Mrs Azuka Ogugua, revealed this on Friday in a statement obtained by press.

Ogugua noted that the ICPC counsel told the court how the defendant, Olaniran, while being the Head of Department of Religious Studies at TASUED, sometime between October and November 2021, demanded sexual benefit or the payment of N100,000 from a female student with a promise to alter her academic grades.

Part of the charge read, “Within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, corruptly demanded for sexual benefit or payment of the sum of N100,000 for himself from a female student (name withheld), on account of a favour to be afterwards shown her in the discharge of his official duties as a lecturer and Head of Department of Religious Studies at the Tai Solarin University of Education, Ijagun, Ijebu Ode, to wit, offering to alter her academic grades from fail to pass in courses with codes EDU 311 and EDU 312”.

Ogugua noted, however, that the defendant, Dr Olaniran, pleaded not guilty when the charge was read to him, while the matter was adjourned to May 11, 2023 for commencement of trial.

“The trial judge, Justice Osinuga admitted the defendant to bail of N500,000 with a surety in like sum. The surety must provide evidence of three years tax clearance and evidence of mean,” Ogugua added.