A lecturer in the Department of Theatre Arts at the University of Abuja, Dr Olabode Wale Ojoniyi, has accused the Head of the Department, Dr Awaritoma Agoma, of physically assaulting him and threatening to kill him during a confrontation in the HOD’s office.
Ojoniyi, who is also the Acting Director of the Centre for Wole Soyinka Studies at the university, made the allegations in a formal complaint addressed to the Vice-Chancellor through the Dean of the Faculty of Arts and the Head of the Department of Theatre Arts.
The complaint detailed what Ojoniyi described as a violent confrontation that allegedly occurred on July 23, 2025, during an argument concerning the academic progress and assessment of a postgraduate student.
According to Ojoniyi, he went to Agoma’s office after being asked to see the HOD. He said another lecturer, Dr Olympus Ejue, was present when the discussion began over comments he had made during a seminar presentation by a postgraduate student identified as Richard Gbilekaa.
Ojoniyi alleged that the discussion became heated after he challenged accusations that he had deliberately worked against the student’s academic progress.
He claimed that Agoma began calling him “unprintable names” and accused him of being arrogant and proud, questioning whether he considered himself the only intelligent person in a department that had several professors.
Ojoniyi said Agoma subsequently ordered him to leave the office and threatened to “cut me to size.”
The lecturer alleged that when he challenged the order, arguing that the HOD’s office was not a private office, Agoma became violent.
“At that point, he rose up in furious anger, pushed and shoved me, headbutted me and began to punch me severally on the face,” Ojoniyi alleged.
He claimed the alleged assault left his mouth blistered, while his lips and face became swollen.
Ojoniyi further alleged that Agoma later pinned his neck against the office door and threatened to kill him.
“I hardly could breathe at that point as he squeezed and pinned my neck to the side of the door,” he stated.
According to him, a postgraduate student, Femi Emmanuel, intervened and helped free him from Agoma’s grip.
He also alleged that Agoma threatened Emmanuel and warned him against telling anyone that he had witnessed the incident.
Ojoniyi said he subsequently took photographs of people who were present in the office because he feared that witnesses might later deny what had happened.
He insisted that he did not physically retaliate during the confrontation.
“In all of these, I did not raise my hands against him to hit him back. I know the value and the worth of civility,” he stated.
The lecturer said he later sought medical treatment at the University of Abuja clinic but continued to experience pain and difficulty swallowing.
“And, ma, as I am writing this, I am finding it very difficult to even swallow my saliva. I am having pains all over my body. This is in spite of the fact that I have earlier gone for treatment at the University clinic,” he wrote.
Ojoniyi linked the alleged assault to a prolonged disagreement within the department over the supervision and academic assessment of postgraduate students, particularly Gbilekaa and another student, Sunday Etim.
He said the dispute started after he returned from an international conference in June 2025 and was informed by Agoma and another lecturer, Dr Agozie, about petitions allegedly submitted by postgraduate students to the Dean of Postgraduate Studies.
Ojoniyi said he had been involved in the supervision and assessment of the two students and had insisted that they implement required corrections before proceeding to subsequent stages of their postgraduate programmes.
He alleged that Gbilekaa attempted to submit a second seminar paper without properly addressing corrections raised during his first seminar.
He also claimed that Etim failed to implement corrections identified during his internal defence.
According to Ojoniyi, his insistence that the students comply with academic procedures resulted in disagreements with some colleagues and eventually led to his removal as Postgraduate Coordinator.
He alleged that Agoma subsequently told him that he could no longer work with him and directed him to hand over the position.
Ojoniyi said he complied and submitted a handover note which, according to him, was signed by Agoma.
The lecturer further claimed that he later overheard Agoma discussing him with Dr Ejue and allegedly saying that he had “started cutting my feathers” and would “further cut me to size.”
He said he confronted the two lecturers after overhearing the conversation and subsequently reported the matter to several senior academics.
Ojoniyi described the July 23 confrontation as the culmination of what he characterised as a campaign against him.
In his complaint, he requested an investigation into the alleged assault and demanded protection against any further attack.
“I want to be protected as Dr Awaritoma Agoma has vowed to deal with me. I need to be protected both within and outside the University,” he stated.
He further warned that if anything happened to him, including an attack, kidnapping, disappearance or assassination, Agoma should be held responsible.
However, the matter later took a dramatic turn when Ojoniyi himself was suspended by the University of Abuja.
A letter dated April 28, 2026, and signed by the Acting Registrar, Sambo Mohammed, showed that the Vice-Chancellor had approved Ojoniyi’s suspension following consideration of an Investigation Panel’s report concerning an alleged case of “assault and battering leading to bodily injuries.”
The university said Ojoniyi would remain suspended pending the outcome of the Staff Disciplinary Committee’s report.
The suspension was imposed under provisions of the University of Abuja Act. Ojoniyi was also informed that he would receive half pay during the period of his suspension and would require the Vice-Chancellor’s express permission before travelling outside Abuja.
He was further directed to hand over any university property in his possession to the Head of the Department of Theatre Arts or the Dean of the Faculty of Arts before proceeding on suspension.
The suspension letter stated:
“This is to inform you that the Vice-Chancellor, acting on the powers conferred on him under Chapter 16, Section 2 of the University of Abuja Act, has approved your suspension in consideration of the report of the Investigation Panel on the alleged case of assault and battering leading to bodily injuries levelled against you.”
It added: “Accordingly, you are hereby suspended with immediate effect pending the outcome of the Staff Disciplinary Committee’s report.”
But Ojoniyi rejected the basis of the suspension in a response dated April 30, 2026, insisting that the allegation had been wrongly attributed to him.
“Number one, sir, there is no allegation of ‘assault and battering leading to bodily injuries’ levelled against me by anybody in writing or verbally before the university for which I was, or I am being investigated,” he wrote.
“On the contrary, I am the one who, on 23 of July, 2025, reported a case of assault and battering leading to bodily injuries against Dr Awaritoma Agoma, the Head of the Department of Theatre Arts.”
Ojoniyi also stated that he had never appeared before the university’s Staff Disciplinary Committee.
He said he expected due process to be followed, adding: “I sincerely trust that justice will not only be done in the case, but will be seen to have been done.”
The documents available do not establish the outcome of the university’s investigation into Ojoniyi’s original allegation against Agoma, nor do they provide the university’s detailed findings on the circumstances surrounding the subsequent allegation against Ojoniyi.
The documents also do not contain a substantive response from the University of Abuja to Ojoniyi’s allegations that he was assaulted and threatened with death, or to his claims concerning the events that preceded the confrontation.
The case has therefore raised questions about the handling of the dispute, the administration of postgraduate academic processes, and the disciplinary procedures adopted by the university in a matter involving competing allegations of physical assault between members of the academic staff.
While Ojoniyi maintains that he was the victim who initially reported an alleged assault, the university’s subsequent suspension letter indicates that an Investigation Panel considered a separate or contested allegation of “assault and battering leading to bodily injuries” against him.
The available documents do not, however, provide enough information to determine the university’s final position on the competing allegations.