Lecturer Sacked posthumously for Allegedly Raping a Student in Delta State

 Late Mr. Ifeanyi Ogu-Raphael, a Theatre Arts lecturer who allegedly raped a student of the Delta State University, Abraka, has been fired posthumously by the authorities of the university.

Ogu-Raphael, also a Ph.D student at the time, who reportedly died late last year, was sacked along with one Dr. P Akpoturi and a Dr. R.K Moruku, for offences the institution described as ‘gross misconduct’.

While the school stated that Ogu-Raphael was dismissed for an alleged case of professional misconduct, and Akpoturi for gross misconduct arising from the conduct of the 2013/2014 post UTME, it added that Moruku, a Business Administration and Marketing lecturer was sacked for abuse of office.

However, it was gathered that before the death of Ogu-Raphael, who was accused of raping a 400 level Theatre Arts student, he did not have the opportunity to appear before the panel which was set up to investigate him.

The Obiaruku born lecturer was allegedly caught in the private residence of his female student, while trying to have carnal knowledge of the girl. But the lecturer had argued that he was set up by the girl and his cultist boyfriend.

A bulletin from the university’s Information and Public Relations Division, Vice Chancellor’s Office, noted, “the governing council at its 90th regular meeting, considered the report/recommendations of the appointments, promotion committee (academic) held in October 2014’’

It went on to list the name of the late lecturer in a table, noting that ‘’the committee recommended that Ogu-Raphael be dismissed from the services of the university’’.

Apart from them, one Dr SEO Ekakitie, a lecturer 1 with the university was to be ‘stagnated for five years’ for selling handouts against the stipulated rules of the institution.

However, the family of the deceased lecturer has raised the alarm over the posthumous sack of their bread winner, stressing that the university took the action to avoid paying the late lecturer his entitlements.

A member of the family, who declined to be named, told The Nigerian Times that the family officially wrote to the school when Ogu-Raphael died late last year, adding that she was surprised that the institution took the decision to fire him after his death.

Reports have it that the case which went viral last year, was centred around the lecturer, who was said to have gone to the hostel of the victim.

The female student who was having his course, THA 203, as a carryover, said that the lecturer had been assuring her that he was going to upgrade her scores to enable her scale through, if she agreed to sleep with him.

On entering the girl’s apartment, the door was said to have jammed, when suddenly the girl’s boyfriend came knocking and forced the door open, only to see the naked lecturer.

But the lecturer had insisted: “I visited her, after she invited me to come over to her apartment, of which I later realized it was a frame-up with the way the incident unfolded.”

He had argued that if indeed he raped the girl, the victim should have been the first to report the case at the police station, noting that he (the lecturer) was the one who reported to the police in Abraka.