The Federal High Court in Abuja has convicted the suspended Dean of the Faculty of Law, University of Calabar, Prof. Cyril Ndifon, and sentenced him to five years’ imprisonment for sexually harassing his female students.
In a judgment delivered today by Justice James Omotosho, the court found Prof. Ndifon guilty on two of the four-count charges filed against him by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
However, the court discharged and acquitted his co-defendant, Mr. Sunny Anyanwu, a lawyer accused of attempting to pervert the course of justice.
Justice Omotosho held that the prosecution’s evidence failed to link the second defendant to any wrongdoing.
According to the judgment, Prof. Ndifon was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment on one of the counts and five years on another, with both terms to run concurrently.
The ICPC had alleged that the embattled dean, while serving as UNICAL’s Head of Faculty, sexually harassed female students by demanding explicit photographs from them.
In one instance, he allegedly requested that a female diploma student, identified in court documents with the pseudonym TJK, send “pornographic, indecent and obscene pictures” to him via WhatsApp.
The student was among four prosecution witnesses who testified in the case, which centered on allegations of sexual harassment, cybercrime and efforts to obstruct justice.
After the ICPC closed its case on February 14, 2024, Prof. Ndifon filed a no-case submission, but the court dismissed it on March 6, 2024, ordering him to enter his defence.
Testifying in his own defence, Prof. Ndifon denied all allegations, insisting the prosecution failed to present credible evidence establishing a prima facie case against him.
A forensic analyst from the Office of the National Security Adviser, CSP Babagana Mingali, also testified as a defence witness.
Prof. Ndifon argued that the testimonies of the prosecution witnesses, including that of the alleged victim, were insufficient to secure a conviction.
The court, however, disagreed and entered a guilty verdict.
© Harrison Essien
