Keypoints:
- Viral video shows invasive exam checks
- University accused of sexist enforcement
- Rights groups say students could sue
A NIGERIAN university is facing national backlash after a video showing female students being physically checked for bras before exams went viral online.
The footage, reported by the BBC, shows female staff at Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU) in Ogun State pressing students’ chests as they queue to enter an examination hall. The act has been slammed as sexist, invasive, and akin to sexual assault by rights groups and students.
Although the university has not issued a public response, the video has ignited fierce debate over personal autonomy, outdated dress codes, and institutional overreach in Nigerian higher education.
Students speak out as policy defended
In a social media post, Muizz Olatunji, president of the OOU students’ union, said the university’s dress code was intended to maintain ‘a respectful and distraction-free environment’. He confirmed that the policy was not new but admitted the enforcement needed to change.
‘We have engaged with the institution to explore alternative approaches to addressing indecent dressing, focusing on respectful and dignified interactions between students and staff,’ he wrote.
The published dress code bans clothes ‘capable of making the same or opposite sex to lust after the student in an indecent manner’.
Legal threats over physical checks
Haruna Ayagi, a senior figure at the Human Rights Network, told the BBC that the university may face lawsuits for violating students’ bodily autonomy.
‘Unwarranted touches on another person’s body is a violation and could lead to legal action. The university is wrong to adopt this method to curb indecent dressing,’ Ayagi said.
A student who asked to remain anonymous described the university as enforcing a rigid moral code despite not being a religious institution. ‘Our clothes are always being checked,’ she said.
University silent as anger grows
OOU, which was founded in 1982 as Ogun State University and renamed in 2001 in honour of Olabisi Onabanjo, has yet to respond to the public outcry. Critics say the institution must apologise and urgently review its enforcement practices.
Until then, the video continues to fuel a nationwide conversation about how far Nigerian universities can—or should—go in policing students’ appearance and conduct.
