The Accounting professor is facing criminal charges for demanding sexual benefits from a student, in addition to sexual coercion of a student, misrepresentation of information and evidence tampering, according to court papers.He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.Akindele appeared in court for the second time for a bail hearing on Tuesday morning at the Federal High court, Osogbo, southwest Nigeria.Prosecutors argued the professor was a flight risk, and he might not attend the trial.Akindele did not report to Nigeria's Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) which is prosecuting the case, during preliminary investigations after he was granted a leave for a medical trip to the United States in July, they said.His bail application was denied, and he will remain in custody pending further investigation, the court saidHis next hearing is December 17.CNN has reached out to Akindele's lawyer for comment and had not heard back by the time of publication.
Nigeria's anti-corruption agency, ICPC, started their investigations after Akindele was sacked for sexual misconduct in June by the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU).The sacking came just one month after CNN's exclusive interview with Master's student Monica Osagie, who said she secretly taped a phone conversation with Akindele to gather evidence against him.Nigeria's Senate, in reaction to CNN's interview, called for a "full-scale investigation" into her allegations and passed a motion to investigate the growing number of cases of sexual harassment in the nation's universities.
Osagie's lawyer Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi, hailed the decision to charge Akindele. She said it signaled that "cases of sexual harassment will no longer be tolerated in the country.""We thank the Federal Government for not silencing hundreds of women facing sexual harassment. We hope there will be due diligence on this case, and justice will be served," Akiyode-Afolabi told CNN.
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