A sexual harassment committee set up by the Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH), Lagos, to probe cases of harassment in the institution has started investigating accusations against Akindele Omotosho, one of the school’s lecturers.

Confirming the development, a member of the panel who asked not to be named told FIJ the 15-member panel began sitting on Monday, June 6.

The panel member said they had sent invites to witnesses and victims who earlier submitted petitions against Omotosho.

“We want to speak with past and current students who can tell us what has been going on,” the member told FIJ. “We are being careful, so we want to follow it up properly.”

The member also said that Omotosho was to appear before the panel on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, an alleged victim who spoke earlier about how Omotosho kissed her and sent her text messages to forget about the incident has been unreachable since the probe began.

The panel member who spoke with FIJ said the victim agreed to testify before the panel, but on the day she was to appear, her phone was switched off.

The panel made several attempts to reach her, but when she learnt who was calling, she dropped the call. A reporter also made the same attempts to reach her, but it proved abortive.

Recall Omotosho was alleged to have kissed one of his students in his office on April 7.

Following that report, past students of the college volunteered information on his previous activities, testifying to how he had harassed them in the past.