Former students of the Department of Mass Communication, Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH), Yaba, Lago State, have narrated how Akindele Omotosho, a lecturer in the department, sexually harassed them.
Motunde Olabanjo (not real name), a graduate of the institution, told FIJ that on November 13, 2019, the day she wrote her final examination, Omotosho used a marker to sign his name on her ‘chest’, and against her will.
The shirt still bears his name, a sad highlight from that day. She never washed it.
Olabanjo said she had worn a plain white T-shirt to school during the period, to partake in the usual ritual of graduating students signing on each other’s shirts.
“Because I did not want anyone to sign on my ‘chest’, I had a female friend write ‘Eyiaro’ in bold fonts across that area,” she said.
Olabanjo’s shirt with ‘Eyiaro’ written across her breast area before Omotosho approached her
During the same period, Olabanjo said she ran into Omotosho, who despite her protests forcefully signed his name in ‘a sensitive area’ around her chest.
“He had been asking me out and would always make attempts to have his way with me during my time as a student. On one occasion, he was just staring at me like a hungry dog,” she said.
“During my project defence, he was extra hard on me. He sent me out to go and borrow a blazer to cover my cleavage, and I swear to you, there was no cleavage showing.
Olabanjo’s shirt with ‘Eyiaro’ written across her breast area before Omotosho approached her
The shirt moments after he signed it.
“On our ‘signing out’, I can present the shirt, he told me to come, and said he wanted to sign too. I was reluctant at first and even turned down his offer. But he persisted. In the end, I gave him a marker, pleading with him not to sign on the area where ‘Eyiaro’ was written. But the dude still found a way and signed right on my right breast!
“He wrote ‘Omot.’, the short form of his name, inside the ‘E’.
“I snapped him when he was signing on my friend’s shirt and he only signed by the side. I was hoping he would do the same when it came to my turn too, but, he went for my breast!”
Moment Omotosho Signed On Olabanjo’s Friend’s Shirt