Appraisal of Workplace Sexual Harassments in Nigeria: The Inadequacy of the Extant Laws

Abstract

Allegations of Sexual harassments in public offices in Nigeria is recently taking a disturbing 
dimension, with highly placed public officials  being indicted  to the extent of demanding sexual 
gratification from their colleagues in return for lucrative assignments, recognition or viable 
posting among other reasons. Various laws were enacted to address various offences in Nigeria 
inclusive of sexual harassments. However, there is no single comprehensive national legislation 
that addresses workplace sexual harassment in Nigeria. There is as well, plethora of court 
decisions sanctioning the acts of workplace sexual harassment in Nigeria, but those decisions 
cannot be comprehensive and exhaustive as the enabling laws were also not comprehensive or 
exhaustive. This paper appraised various provisions of the laws of sexual harassment in Nigeria 
side by side with the recent allegations of sexual harassments in the Senate of the Federal Republic 
of Nigeria, as it particularly affects the integrity of the Public Service of the Federation.. This 
paper observed that the laws seeking to punish the acts of sexual harassment in Nigeria are 
inadequate, and it is accordingly recommended that a single national comprehensive legislation 
should be enacted to address the disquieting development of sexual harassment in Nigeria public 
offices. This paper seeks to address the question, why should the Senate insists on passing the 
Sexual Offences Bill into law in 2020 against the lecturers in the tertiary educational institutions 
in the country while there is a skeleton in their cupboard? This paper adopts the use of doctrinal 
method of research.