Survivor Narrates Ordeal As Police Arrest Randy Lecturer In North East Nigeria
A lecturer at the Al-ma’arrif Private Nursing College in Potiskum, northeastern Nigeria, has been arrested on allegations of sexual violence. More victims are now speaking out, raising questions about the safety of higher institutions of learning for women.
On March 4, the Nigerian Police arrested Adamu Garba Hudu, a Mental Health Psychiatric Nursing lecturer at the Al-Ma’arif College of Health Science and Technology, a private school of nursing in the Potiskum town of Yobe State, northeastern Nigeria, over a suspected rape case involving one of his students.
The lecturer, who doubles as an employee of the State General Hospital in Potiskum, reportedly perpetrated the crime at his office at the General Hospital. According to the police, at least four students had been his victims as he’s fond of sexually exploiting them for grades.
A few days after the arrest, Fareeda Azeez*, a survivor recently harassed by him in February, told HumAngle that she was stunned when news broke out that her lecturer was in police custody.
“I went to him after one of our classes to discuss my mental health, but to my surprise, he asked me to come to the hospital to see him.”
After explaining how she was feeling to Hudu, the lecturer said he was only going to help if the innocent girl agreed to marry him. “He spoke about meeting my parents to perform all the marriage rites immediately, but I turned down the offer. To my surprise, he was mad at me and then asked whether my boyfriend was better than him.”
As Fareeda felt more uncomfortable in the office, she decided to walk away but Hudu stopped her, insisting on getting a response immediately. “I told him I was going to think about it so that he could let me go,” she said.
A few days later, Hudu called Fareeda, “but I responded saying I was yet to discuss with my parents, and when he pressed on, I outrightly turned him down and stopped picking up his calls until after examination.”
Exploitation?
On Feb. 20, Fareeda says Hudu called her on the phone to inform her that she had failed his course woefully. She was shocked because she was not expecting to fail.
“I was shocked when he told me that I failed woefully in his course, but I responded that it was fine.”
Surprisingly, Hudu said he was going to help her out of the situation. However, she must not tell anyone about it.
“He asked me to come to his office by 4 p.m., which was past school closing hours, but I declined.”
Rather than visit Hudu in his office, Fareeda, whose school handbook is silent on how to report cases of sexual assault, confided in a friend who encouraged her to report the incident to the Division of Students Affairs. In reaction to this, the team at the student’s division advised Fareeda to record subsequent calls with Hudu.
While sexual harassment is one of the most discussed forms of violence in Nigerian tertiary institutions, many schools do not have clear policies on how harassment should be reported or addressed. Although a 2018 survey by World Bank Group revealed that 70 per cent of female graduates from Nigerian tertiary institutions had been sexually harassed in school by classmates and instructors, victims are most times left to suffer in silence, as only a few cases have gained public reaction with appropriate sanctions in the last few years.
Like Fareeda, many students of Al-Ma’arif College of Health Science and Technology said they have been molested by Hudu. When contacted to speak about their experiences, they declined due to fear of stigmatisation.
Dismissed
Following his arrest by police, the management of Al-Ma’arif College of Health Science and Technology has terminated the appointment of Hudu.
According to a memo dated Feb. 24 and signed by Mallam Saleh, the secretary Appointment, Promotion and Disciplinary Committee of the institution, Hudu’s engagement with the school was terminated with immediate effect.
The committee found him guilty of “illicit affair with one of the students (name withheld for obvious reason), moral victimisation of three students (names withheld for obvious reason) and academic intimidation of one of the students (name withheld for obvious reason),” part of the statement read.
“For these reasons, Mr Hudu is to hand over all the booklets and properties belonging to the College that are with him to the Heads of Departments of Nursing and Midwifery, respectively and await further action to be taken against him for breach of trust by both the College and the parents of the affected student.”
Hudu is currently remanded as police carry out further investigation on his case.
Our source’s name has been changed to avoid stigmatisation.
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