Academic fraud: ASUU battles LASU VC, Fagbohun, over sacking of whistleblowers

The National Executive Council of the Academic Staff Union of Universities has imposed heavy sanctions on lecturers at the Lagos State University, Ojo, saying no Nigerian university should relate with them.

The NEC also barred the lecturers from sabbatical leave, visitations, external assessments, conferences, workshops and research collaborations.

The decisions were taken at the ASUU NEC meeting which held from March 7 to 8, 2020 at the Enugu State University of Technology.

A resolution of the NEC, obtained by our correspondent, showed that the decisions were taken after the council considered a report of the ad-hoc committee on LASU.

The Vice-Chancellor of the varsity, Prof. Olanrewaju Fagbohun, was also declared an enemy of the union in a bulletin signed by the ASUU LASU Secretary, Dr Tony Dasu, and the Assistant Secretary, Dr Adeola Oyekan.

Oyekan, who confirmed the development in a telephone conversation with our correspondent, said the union headquarters took the decisions over several cases of victimisation perpetrated by the management.

He explained that those who exposed alleged academic fraud, especially the union leaders, were sacked.

“The NEC meeting held at Enugu and one of the issues raised was the report of the ad hoc committee that visited LASU. The NEC took note that the management of the university under Fagbohun had been victimising the union since 2017.

“It started with the dismissal of our chairman, Dr Isaac Oyewunmi, and vice-chairman, Adebowale Adeyemi-Suenu, in December 2017. The union came to the conclusion that there was the need to deal with the situation.

“So, effectively, the VC was declared an enemy of the union and sanctions were imposed on the university, which means that no lecturer from LASU can go to any other university for sabbatical and conferences and no lecturer from other university can visit LASU without attracting sanctions from the union,” he said.