Prof Cyril Ndifon has been on suspension from UNICAL since the allegations first surfaced in 2023. The judgment marks the first known conviction of a Nigerian university dean for sexual harassment of students.
The Federal High Court in Abuja has sentenced Cyril Ndifon, the suspended Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Calabar (UNICAL), to five years’ imprisonment for sexual harassment.
Delivering judgment of 77 pages on Monday, Justice James Omotosho convicted Ndifon on the first two counts of the amended charge. He sentenced him to two years on count one and five years on count two, with the terms to run concurrently and no option of a fine.
The judge held that the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) had proved both counts beyond reasonable doubt.
Ndifon’s co-accused, Barrister Sunny Anyanwu (a member of his defence team), was acquitted and discharged. The court found that the prosecution failed to link Anyanwu to the offences in counts three and four.
Background of the case
The ICPC originally charged only Ndifon with sexually harassing female students. In an amended charge filed on 19 January 2024, Anyanwu was added as the second defendant over allegations that he tried to pervert the course of justice by contacting the star witness (identified only as TKJ) and pressuring her not to cooperate with investigators.
Counts one and two, on which Ndifon was convicted, centred on his abuse of office to sexually exploit students. Prosecutors said Ndifon repeatedly demanded nude photographs from TKJ – a diploma student – via WhatsApp and solicited oral sex from her in exchange for assistance with her admission into the Faculty of Law.
Read the judgment below