The Federal University Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE) has officially cleared its Vice-Chancellor, Professor Abayomi S. Fasina, of sexual harassment allegations made by a senior engineer, Engr. Folasade Adebayo.
Instead of supporting Adebayo’s claims, the university’s Governing Council criticised her for recording the Vice-Chancellor without his knowledge and labelled the recordings as an act of blackmail.
Adebayo was accused of trying to pressure the university into confirming her as the substantive Director of Works, a position the Vice-Chancellor had no authority to grant.
The Council said she had never formally submitted a sexual harassment complaint and demanded that she apologise within seven days for allegedly damaging the university’s reputation.
The Council also acknowledged listening to the audio recordings but stated they were not forensically analysed.
Based on police investigations and their own findings, the Council concluded that there was no case of sexual harassment.
They further clarified that Adebayo’s tenure as Acting Director had simply expired and was not terminated as she claimed.
The Council also criticised the university management for improperly backdating her promotion and ordered a review of the matter.
While advising Professor Fasina to be more cautious in his dealings with subordinates, the Council announced plans to establish new policies on cyberbullying, social media usage, and university conduct.
They also mentioned setting up a peace and reconciliation committee, as well as onboarding programmes for staff.
Additionally, the Council plans to name buildings and roads after notable Nigerians and clear two former Council members of previous bribery allegations.
Despite all this, an earlier report from January revealed that in a leaked audio conversation, Fasina admitted to making romantic advances towards Adebayo.
He expressed regret about the incident becoming public and accused her of exposing him.
Adebayo, in the same conversation, denied leaking any information and stated that she wanted a fair hearing.
The exchange showed Fasina acknowledging his actions but insisting that they didn’t amount to harassment, and also warning Adebayo about the dangers of sharing such private interactions.
