By Ojo Adétẹ̀wọ̀
In a time when our public institutions are gasping for credibility, the recent attempt by the Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE) to use the courts to halt an ongoing investigation by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) is a thunderous red flag, one that should not be ignored.
The matter in question? An allegation of sexual harassment.
One would expect any leader, especially the head of a university, to welcome full scrutiny to clear their name and protect the integrity of their office. But instead, we are witnessing a strategic retreat behind legal curtains, a move that screams “I have something to hide.”
Let’s not forget: this is the same Vice-Chancellor who, in a formal letter to FUOYE’s Governing Council, confidently wrote:
“My leave time will probably allow the Authorities to review the Report of the Council on the allegation of sexual harassment for which I was cleared, if necessary.”
Those words projected transparency, openness, and a willingness to allow the truth to prevail. But today, those words ring hollow. Because the same man now seeks to block the very investigation he appears to welcome.
This contradiction is not just embarrassing, it is a betrayal of the public trust. It exposes a troubling truth: that the Council’s “clearance” was either premature, politically motivated, or willfully blind. Whichever it is, the Governing Council must now be held accountable too.
When a leader obstructs an anti-corruption investigation, he doesn’t protect his reputation; he confirms the suspicion.
And when a Governing Council facilitates that obstruction, it becomes part of the problem.
This is a moment of reckoning for FUOYE. And it is a test for the broader educational community and Nigeria’s anti-corruption institutions. Will we allow power and privilege to silence the truth? Or will we insist on integrity, even when it implicates those at the top?
The ICPC must be allowed to do its job.
The university community must demand transparency.
And every Council member who endorsed that hollow clearance should be placed under the same scrutiny as the man they protected.
Let it be known: our universities cannot be sanctuaries for cover-ups.
And no amount of legal gymnastics will erase the moral failure of running from accountability.
*Ojo Adétẹ̀wọ̀ is a Public Affairs Commentator & Advocate for Institutional Integrity.
