Based on the official Statement by Babcock University on the 20th November 2019, in response to the reports circulating the social media about a third-year student of Accounting whose sex video got leaked, we deduced the following information;

               i.         That the event occurred in April 2019 during the school vacation period;

              ii.         That the act took place off-campus at Saint Bridget Hospital, Abeokuta, Ogun State, where the partner of the female student was undergoing rehabilitation; and

iii.         That these two adults as seen in the ‘video’ are in a healthy relationship.

While we understand the University’s action to protect the institution’s corporate image, principles and values, and upholding her rules and code of conduct governing students of the institution; we wish to remind the University that its rules and code of conduct are subject to the provision of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, which is supreme to all other binding rules and laws within Nigeria.

In this light, the decision made by the University based on its rules and code of conduct contravenes the provisions of Chapter IV of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria that guarantees the fundamental human rights of the female student. In precision, the decision of the University violates the following:

i.               Right to the respect of the dignity of the person (34);

ii.              Right to personal liberty (35); and

iii.             Right to freedom of expression[1] (36).

Furthermore, we wish to remind Babcock University that the Chapter II of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria recognises the need for equal and adequate educational opportunities of which the expelled female student has been deprived. And, the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights provides for the right to education as an enforceable right for all African citizens.

As young people, human rights activists and delegates of the INCRESE Feminist institute – Connecting the Dots, are deeply concerned about University’s decision to expel the lady; thereby aggravating an already unfortunate situation that resulted from the leak of an intimate video with her lover. In addition, it is essential to note that sex between consenting adults should in no way be policed nor be punishable.

Giving the foregoing, we maintain that Babcock University has further violated the fundamental human rights of the female student and therefore demand the reversal of her expulsion with immediate effect. Failure to reverse this decision may attract legal recourse in order to promote and protect the rights of the female student.

[1] Sexual expression