The Senate on Wednesday, November 5, 2025, passed a bill proposing up to 14 years maximum jail term for lecturers and other education sector workers found culpable of sexual harassment in tertiary institutions nationwide. The Bill, titled: “Sexual Harassment of Students (Prevention and Prohibition) Bill, 2025 (HB.1597),” seeks to curtail the trend in Nigerian Universities, where students, especially the female ones, are exploited sexually in exchange for grades, admission, or other academic favors.
The bill, presented by Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele (APC, Ekiti Central), establishes clear legal standards to punish offenders and protect students from all forms of sexual misconduct in schools.
Bamidele, whose deputy, Oyelola Ashiru, represented, said the legislation aims to “promote ethical conduct, preserve the sanctity of the educator-student relationship, and uphold respect for human dignity in academic environments.”
The new law states that any educator convicted of the offences specified in Clause 4 (1–3) will face imprisonment of between five and 14 years, without an option of a fine. Those found guilty under Clause 4 (4–6) risk two to five years in jail, also without an option of a fine.
The proposed law provides for victims or their representatives to file civil actions for breach of trust obligation, with the standard of proof consistent with civil proceedings.
Other offences specified in the Bill include: “Demanding or receiving sexual gratification for academic benefits;
Making unwelcome sexual advances or gestures; inducing others to commit harassment; and unwanted physical contact or conduct of a sexual nature. The bill prescribes that marriage between the educator and the student is the only valid defense, and that consent cannot be used as an excuse for an educator–student relationship.
It further provides that sexual harassment complaints may be lodged by the victim, relatives, guardians, or any concerned party to the Police or Attorney-General, with copies forwarded to the institution’s Independent Sexual Harassment Prohibition Committee.
While debating, Senator Adams Oshiomhole (APC, Edo North) urged the Senate to expand the scope of the law to capture workplaces and other sectors, arguing that harassment was not limited to schools.“There is no need to restrict sexual harassment issues to students. We should craft this law in a way that gives it universal application,” he said.
However, Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin, who presided over plenary, stated that the bill was already passed by the House of Representatives and was before the Senate only for concurrence, adding that there is already a law in existence addressing harassment in workplaces.
The bill was thereafter adopted and passed for third reading.
