Anchor University Lagos, a private institution run by the Deeper Christian Life Ministry, is facing serious scrutiny over allegations of negligence in addressing an incident involving a female student’s harassment by an unskilled labourer.
The incident was brought to light by the student, Evangel Ganiyu, who shared her ordeal on Saturday via X, through the account Dragana @draganaismother.
Her posts quickly sparked widespread outrage, prompting a call for accountability from the university.
Ganiyu recounted that the university had been undergoing major renovations to accommodate new students, which led to the hiring of several unskilled workers. On the morning of the incident, she was horrified to wake up and find one of these workers lying in bed next to her, nearly naked.
“I thought it was my friend who had slept over. It wasn’t,” she wrote in a detailed series of tweets on Saturday, recounting the terrifying moment.
Shocked and shaken, Ganiyu screamed for the man to leave immediately and reported the situation to the hostel porter, who escalated the issue to the supervisor.
The supervisor organized a lineup of workers, and Ganiyu was able to identify the man, although he denied the accusations.
It wasn’t until another female student reported that the same man had been spying on her in the bathroom that the suspect, identified as Okoro, began pleading for forgiveness.
Ganiyu pointed out that the onlookers gave the man “a minor beating,” but the porters and the head of the workers urged her to forgive him, citing reasons such as him being “probably under the influence” and “just a small boy.”
Despite the pressure to drop the matter, Ganiyu contacted her father and then escalated the issue to the university’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Samuel Oye Bandele.
However, the response she received from him left her feeling further victimized.
According to Ganiyu, the Vice-Chancellor questioned her credibility, asking her inappropriate questions about whether her clothes and underwear were still on during the incident.
When she confirmed that they were, Bandele allegedly accused her of being “economical with the truth” and implied she had a questionable character.
Ganiyu recalled the exchange, “My supervisor then took me to the Vice-Chancellor’s office to explain the situation. I told him what had happened. He proceeded to ask me the following questions: ‘Were your clothes on?’ ‘Was your underwear on?’ to which I answered yes and yes.”
“He then asked me how old I was. I told him. He then said that I was not a two-year-old girl and asked how I wouldn’t know if a man had penetrated me.”
“He then said that I am a bad girl, that I am being economical with the truth, and that I should be tested (by a male doctor, by the way) because I was being shady.”
The conversation left her distressed, as it seemed like an effort to dismiss her experience and shame her instead of offering support.
Ganiyu further highlighted that this wasn’t an isolated incident, alleging a pattern of the university covering up cases of female students being abused by encouraging them to forgive and move on.
She expressed her frustration and called for action, stating, “This is not the first time something like this has happened in this school, where a female student is abused, and the school tries to cover it up by shaming her or telling her to forgive and forget.”
Her tweets quickly gained attention, with many calling for Anchor University to be held accountable for its handling of the situation and its treatment of female students.
Ganiyu concluded her posts with a plea for justice, noting, “I have had multiple bad experiences in this school, and I have never received justice. Please don’t let it happen again. Please hold Anchor University accountable for the multiple ways they discriminate against their female students.”
In response to the uproar, Anchor University released a statement via Instagram on Sunday, claiming that Ganiyu’s account did not represent the full truth.
The statement acknowledged that the incident took place on September 28, 2024, involving an unskilled worker hired for renovation work at one of the female halls of residence.
The university emphasized that they were not in session but had just concluded holiday programs, including summer school and trainee ICAN students.
The university’s statement noted that after Ganiyu reported the situation, hostel staff and security personnel investigated the matter.
The hostel supervisor, Mrs. Grace Abodunde, presented the case to the Vice-Chancellor in the company of Ganiyu. The university noted that “further interrogations were carried out” to assess the situation.
In the midst of the public outcry, the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency responded to Ganiyu’s post on X, urging her to report the case immediately and providing their toll-free hotline for assistance.
“Kindly call our toll-free line – 08000 333 333 to make a report immediately. Alternatively, send us a number you can be contacted on via DM,” the agency posted.
