The Senate, on Wednesday, passed a bill prescribing up to 14 years’ imprisonment for any randy lecturers found guilty of sexually harassing students in tertiary institutions.

The passage follows mounting cases of lecturers exploiting students for grades, admission slots, and other academic favours—an abuse long entrenched in Nigeria’s higher education system and exposed in investigations such as the 2019 Sex-for-Grades undercover report.

The legislation, titled Sexual Harassment of Students (Prevention and Prohibition) Bill, 2025 (HB.1597), was presented for concurrence by the Senate Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele (APC, Ekiti Central).

Bamidele explained that the bill seeks to shield students from all forms of sexual misconduct and abuse within academic institutions while establishing a clear legal framework for enforcement and punishment.

The Ekiti federal lawmaker added that the legislation aims to promote ethical conduct in tertiary education and preserve the sanctity of the student–educator relationship, which is built on authority, trust, and respect for human dignity.

According to the Senate, “Any person who commits any of the offences or acts specified in clause 4 (1), (2) and (3) of this Bill is guilty of an offence of felony and shall, on conviction, be sentenced to an imprisonment term of up to 14 years but not less than 5 years, without an option of a fine.

“(i) Any person who commits any of the offences or acts specified in Clause 4 (4), (5) and (6) of this Bill is guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to an imprisonment term of up to 5 years but not less than 2 years, without an option of a fine.”

The bill further allows a student who alleges harassment to pursue a civil suit for breach of fiduciary duty, with the standard of proof aligned with civil proceedings.

It defines a broad range of offences, including demanding or soliciting sexual favours, making sexual advances, coercing others to engage in harassment, and inappropriate touching or gestures.

The legislation also stipulates that marriage between the educator and the student shall serve as the only defence, while consent will not be accepted as a defence where a teacher–student relationship exists.

“Sexual harassment complaints may be filed by the student, relatives, guardians or any concerned party to the Police or Attorney-General, with copies also submitted to the institution’s Independent Sexual Harassment Prohibition Committee,” the bill stated.

During deliberations, some lawmakers advocated expanding the bill’s scope beyond tertiary institutions.

Senator Adams Oshiomhole (APC, Edo North), argued that the law should extend to workplaces and other sectors.

“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 appealed.

But the Deputy Senate President, Senator Barau Jibrin, who presided over the plenary, noted that the bill had already been passed by the House of Representatives and was before the Senate solely for concurrence.

Barau further explained that existing statutes already cover harassment in workplace environments.

The Senate thereafter adopted and passed the bill for third reading.

The new law comes in the wake of recurring sex-for-grades scandals implicating lecturers in universities across Lagos, Port Harcourt, Ilorin, Nsukka, Kano, Benin, and Abuja. Many victims have historically refrained from seeking justice due to fear of victimisation, stigma, or lack of faith in opaque institutional processes.

Women’s rights advocates and civil society groups have consistently demanded a stronger national legal instrument to break the cycle of silence surrounding sexual harassment in Nigerian campuses.