By Amah
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A 20-year-old undergraduate of the University of Lagos has told a Lagos State High Court how a lecturer allegedly lured and raped her inside his office, in a case that is now drawing widespread attention to sexual misconduct within Nigeria’s tertiary institutions.
Testifying before Justice Oyindamola Ogala at the Ikeja Division, the young woman recounted, in emotional detail, how Samuel Obinna Ojogbo, a 53-year-old lecturer, allegedly assaulted her on campus.
The Lagos State Government is prosecuting Ojogbo on a two-count charge bordering on rape and sexual assault.
According to the student, the incident did not happen suddenly; it began with what appeared to be a routine academic interaction. She told the court that on August 21, 2025, while writing an examination, the lecturer approached her at her seat, asked about her performance, and later invited her to his office after the exam.
“I thought it was about academics,” she implied in her testimony.
Her attempts to meet him that day were unsuccessful. But the following day, August 22, after completing another examination, she encountered the lecturer again on the Akoka campus. He signaled her to wait, and they both proceeded to his office.
What she described next formed the crux of the prosecution’s case.
The student told the court that the lecturer’s office was in a secluded underground space with no windows and no administrative presence, an environment she said made her vulnerable.
While they were inside, two other students briefly entered but were quickly dismissed by the lecturer. Moments later, he allegedly instructed her to shut the door.
“As I moved to close it, he came behind me, pushed me onto the couch, touched me, and forced himself on me,” she said in court, breaking down in tears. “He raped me.”
The courtroom reportedly fell silent as she narrated the ordeal.
She further alleged that after the incident, the lecturer attempted to manipulate the situation by making academic promises, my myoffering to supervise her future project work and collecting her personal details, including her phone number.
Rather than remain silent, the student said she immediately reported the incident.
“I left his office crying and went straight to my friend. We agreed to report it,” she told the court.
Her initial report within the university system, however, appeared to yield little support. She recounted how a Head of Department questioned her evidence and allegedly advised her to “be more careful” rather than escalate the matter.
Unsatisfied, she and her uncle pursued the case further, reporting to the university’s SERVICOM unit and later seeking medical attention at the campus health centre.
The case soon moved beyond the university.
She reported to the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency, which referred her to the police at Bariga, and subsequently to the Women at Risk International Foundation for further medical examination and support.
Investigations were later taken over by the Gender Unit of the police.
The student also revealed that following the report, there were attempts by the defendant’s associates to initiate an out-of-court settlement, an approach that has become increasingly controversial in sexual assault cases across Nigeria.
The case has since become a focal point in the ongoing conversation about campus safety, abuse of authority, and the challenges victims face in seeking justice within institutional frameworks.
Justice Ogala adjourned the matter to April 27, 2026, for cross-examination.
As the trial continues, the case raises critical questions about power dynamics in Nigerian universities, the protection of students, and whether institutions are doing enough to address allegations of sexual violence involving faculty members.
