A former Head of Department of Early Childhood Care and Education at the Lagos State University of Education (LASUED), Mr. Fowowe Simeon Sunday, has been suspended for another six months over a 2021 rape incident involving a student, despite earlier being exonerated by a university panel and the actual perpetrator having been convicted and jailed.
The Nigeria Education News gathered that the fresh suspension followed a new query issued by the university management in November 2025, a move some staff members have described as punitive and politically motivated.
The rape incident occurred on October 11, 2021, when a part-time lecturer, Mr. Kolawole Muyiwa, allegedly sexually assaulted a female student inside an office allocated to Mr. Fowowe, who was then Head of Department in the College of Specialised and Professional Education.
Sources within the institution said the office was shared by Mr. Fowowe and another staff member, Mr. Asimolowo Muyiwa, and that Kolawole Muyiwa, though a part-time lecturer, frequently used the space.
It was further gathered that Mr. Fowowe was not on campus on the day of the incident, having travelled with official approval for the burial of his late mother.
Following the incident, Kolawole Muyiwa was arrested, prosecuted, and convicted by a Lagos High Court in February 2025, where he was sentenced to imprisonment and is currently serving his jail term.
However, Mr. Fowowe was also queried in 2021 for allegedly allowing his office to be used for the commission of the crime and was subsequently placed on a six-month suspension. A disciplinary panel later set up by the university reportedly cleared him of any wrongdoing.
Despite this outcome, the university management issued Mr. Fowowe another query dated November 13, 2025, signed by the Registrar and Secretary to Council, Mr. Opeoluwa Akinfemiwa, asking him to explain why he should not face dismissal.
The query, 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,” referenced the February 2025 conviction of Kolawole Muyiwa.
The document stated that the incident represented a breach of leadership responsibility and questioned Mr. Fowowe’s supervision and control over the office space.
He was given 48 hours to respond to four specific charges, including whether he granted access to the assailant and what security measures were in place to prevent unauthorised entry.
Shortly after responding to the query, sources told The Nigeria Education News that Mr. Fowowe was placed on another six-month suspension over the same allegation.
Several academic staff members who spoke anonymously described the action as “double jeopardy”, arguing that the matter had already been investigated and concluded.
“The offender has been convicted and is in prison. Bringing back the same issue years later raises serious concerns,” a senior academic staff member 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 connected to internal union politics ahead of leadership contests within the ASUU chapter.
They further alleged that outspoken union members were being targeted to weaken opposition within the institution, a claim the university management has not publicly addressed.
Efforts to obtain official comments from the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Bidemi Balikis Lafiaji-Okuneye, and the university’s Public Relations Unit were unsuccessful as of the time of filing this report.
The development has heightened concerns among staff over the use of disciplinary procedures and the state of academic freedom and union activities within the Lagos State-owned university.
