Suspended UNICAL Dean, Cyril Ndifon, Remanded in Kuje Prison Over Alleged Sexual Harassment
Cyril Ndifon, the suspended Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Calabar (UNICAL), facing allegations of sexual harassment, has been remanded in Kuje Prison by the Federal High Court, sitting in Abuja, FCT.
As reported by Daily Trust and Peoples Gazette, the charges filed by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) include soliciting nude photos and videos from students and using his position for personal gain. Ndifon pleaded not guilty to the four-count charge before Justice James Omotosho.
The ICPC, though its counsel, Ebenezer Shogunle, had filed the charge marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/511/23 on Oct. 30, 2023 against Ndifon.
In the first count, between June and September 2023, the defendant allegedly utilized his office to seek explicit content from a second-year female university student via Whatsapp, violating Section 19 of the Corrupt Practices And Other Related Offences Act, 2000.
Count two accuses Ndifon of soliciting explicit material from a fourth-year Law student, with the intention of becoming her project supervisor for favorable grades, violating Section 8(1)(a) (il) of the agency’s Act.
The third count alleges that Ndifon corruptly sought photos from a 16-year-old prospective post UTME student as an inducement for admission into the Faculty of Law, violating Section 18(d) of the Act.
Count four charges him with compelling a female student to share explicit content through Whatsapp between May and September 2023, contravening Section 24 of the Cybercrime (Prohibition & Prevention) Act, 2015.
In October 2023, The University of Calabar probe panel, investigating allegations of sexual harassment by Ndifon, determined him guilty of gross misconduct. In their report, the panel found that Prof. Ndifon used his position to intimidate and seek sexual favors from female students while also engaging in students' exploitation.
In August, a group of female students studying law at UNICAL, staged a protest on campus grounds after they claimed they were targets of sexual harassment by Ndifon. Following the protests, Document Women spoke to some of the students to get their accounts.
Document Women also logged a brief timeline of the outcome following his first indictment, spanning eight years. Ndifon was first indicted on 29 August 2015 for allegedly assaulting a student in his office while she was retaking a test. Ndifon was suspended after the protest and an investigation panel was formed to hear testimony from him and his alleged victims.