The Federal High Court, Abuja, on Monday sentenced the suspended Dean of the Faculty of Law, University of Calabar (UNICAL), Prof. Cyril Ndifon, to five years imprisonment for sexually harassing female students.
Delivering judgment, Justice James Omotosho found Ndifon guilty on two of the four-count charge brought against him by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
ICPC had accused the professor of soliciting nude photographs and videos from female students, offences bordering on sexual harassment, cybercrime, and attempts to pervert the course of justice.
Justice Omotosho, in his ruling, held that the prosecution proved counts one and two beyond reasonable doubt, while counts three and four were not sufficiently established.
The court consequently sentenced Ndifon to two years imprisonment on count one and five years on count two, to run concurrently.
“In final analysis, the prosecution has successfully established counts 1 and 2 beyond reasonable doubt against the 1st defendant,” the judge said.
“The 1st defendant has brought shame upon the Faculty of Law of the University of Calabar, the University itself, the legal profession and his family.”
The judge described Ndifon’s conduct as “despicable,” adding that evidence showed that he persistently demanded pornographic materials from young students under the guise of offering academic support.
He said the lecturer’s “randy nature and shameful conduct instilled fear in the minds of the students,” stressing that such behaviour undermined the learning environment and the integrity of the legal profession.
Following ICPC’s closure of its case on Feb. 14, 2024, Ndifon had filed a no-case submission which the court dismissed, ordering him to enter his defence. He testified personally, while a forensic analyst from the Office of the National Security Adviser, CSP Babagana Mingali, also appeared.
Ndifon denied all allegations, insisting that the prosecution failed to provide credible evidence. However, the court held that testimonies and analysis presented were sufficient to establish his culpability.
Justice Omotosho also discharged and acquitted Ndifon’s co-defendant, Mr Sunny Anyanwu, a lawyer, of all charges.
The court described the judgment as significant in the fight against sexual harassment in Nigerian tertiary institutions, noting that such acts had become rampant, especially in environments where women were vulnerable due to unequal power dynamics.
“The society is better rid of the 1st defendant and his perverted mind,” the judge added.
