The Lagos State University of Education (LASUED) has again suspended a former Head of Department of Early Childhood Care and Education, Mr. Fowowe Simeon Sunday, for six months over a 2021 rape incident involving a student, despite his earlier clearance by a university panel and the conviction of the actual perpetrator.
Findings by Nigeria Education News indicate that the renewed suspension followed a fresh query issued by the university management in November 2025, a move many staff members have described as punitive and politically motivated.
The incident in question occurred on October 11, 2021, when a part-time lecturer, Mr. Kolawole Muyiwa, allegedly sexually assaulted a female student in an office assigned to Mr. Fowowe, who was then Head of Department in the College of Specialised and Professional Education.
Sources within the institution disclosed that the office was shared by Mr. Fowowe and another staff member, Mr. Asimolowo Muyiwa, and that Kolawole Muyiwa, although a part-time lecturer, regularly used the space. It was also gathered that Mr. Fowowe was not on campus on the day of the incident, having travelled with official approval for his mother’s burial.
After the assault, Kolawole Muyiwa was arrested, prosecuted and eventually convicted by a Lagos High Court in February 2025, where he was sentenced to imprisonment and is currently serving his term.
Mr. Fowowe, however, was queried in 2021 for allegedly allowing his office to be used for the commission of the crime and was placed on a six-month suspension. A disciplinary panel later constituted by the university reportedly exonerated him of wrongdoing.
Despite the earlier clearance, LASUED management issued another query dated November 13, 2025, signed by the Registrar and Secretary to Council, Mr. Opeoluwa Akinfemiwa, asking Mr. Fowowe to show cause why he should not be dismissed.
Titled “Query on the Use of Your Office for a Criminal Act of Misconduct Involving a Student Contrary to the University’s Conditions of Service,” the document referenced the conviction of Kolawole Muyiwa and questioned Mr. Fowowe’s leadership responsibility, supervision and control of the office space.
He was given 48 hours to respond to four charges, including whether he granted access to the assailant and what security measures existed to prevent unauthorised entry. Shortly after submitting his response, sources said he was again placed on another six-month suspension over the same matter.
Several academic staff members, who spoke anonymously, condemned the action as “double jeopardy.”
“The offender has been tried, convicted and jailed. Reopening the same case against someone already cleared years later raises serious institutional concerns,” a senior lecturer said.
Mr. Fowowe is also a prominent member of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) at LASUED. Multiple sources alleged that the renewed disciplinary action may be linked to internal union politics ahead of leadership contests within the chapter.
They claimed that outspoken union figures were being targeted to weaken opposition within the institution, an allegation the university management has yet to address publicly.
Efforts to obtain official comments from the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Bidemi Balikis Lafiaji-Okuneye, and LASUED’s Public Relations Unit were unsuccessful as of the time of filing this report.
The development has deepened concerns among staff over the application of disciplinary procedures, academic freedom and the future of union activities within the Lagos State-owned university.
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