Although it is on record that Prof. Cyril Ndifon, the Dean of the Law Faculty, University of Calabar was suspended by the school authorities in 2015 over an allegation of raping a 20-year-old law student in his office, he maintains that certain individuals are determined to tarnish his integrity.
This is following the protests which broke out on Monday by female students of the Law Faculty who cried out that they are fed up with the non-stop sexual harassment meted out to them by the Dean of their faculty, Prof Ndifon Cyril.
Ndifon Cyril who said he remains resolute in his commitment to fulfilling his duties as Dean, notwithstanding the choreographed plots to discredit him claims that the allegations of sexual harassment are false and that some persons within the faculty have repeatedly sought to undermine his position as Dean.
However, some female lawyers who were Cyril’s students at the University of Calabar have been speaking out albeit anonymously.
“This man almost raped me in his office in my 2nd year in 2000, and he was 35 years then”, a former student who is now a lawyer said.
Another one said: “He brought out his thing for me to suck while I was in that institution but I took off and almost abandoned reading law if not for my father’s support.😩. I understand that he is protected by the high and mighty being a member of a very popular/powerful confraternity.”
Another account said: “I actually know a girl that this man molested… She had to leave the school and start all over again in another school because her word against him didn’t hold water.
“His colleagues know the truth. But all he has to do is claim it these girls are agents of the Devil sent to destroy him and his colleagues will forgive him because such angles hold water in Calabar!”
But while some analysts allege that the Professor might be sick, others insist that this might be a predator that must be reined in fast!
In 2015, Prof. Cyril Ndifon was suspended by the school’s Vice Chancellor, Professor Ivara Esu for sexually assaulting a 20-year-old 400-level student.
Nifon’s suspension came after the victim’s mother, Irene Akpan, in a letter sent to the university, alleged that the Prof had raped her daughter, between 3 and 5 pm on August 29, 2015, at his private office on the top floor of the faculty building.
But he was reinstated by the university in December 2022.
On Monday the protesting students had placards bearing all manner of inscriptions including: “We are tired of sucking;” “Enough of Law school list manipulation;” “Prof Ndifon must go for our sanity; “Law girls are not Bonanza;” “Prof Ndifon should stop grabbing us;” “The faculty of law is not a brothel…”
Despite the fact that sources close to the school claim that the protesting students are being threatened by the authorities with expulsion and some students already regretting taking part in the protest for fear of being sanctioned, Vice Chancellor Prof. Florence Obi has announced that the university is committed to addressing their concerns and finding constructive solutions.
Meanwhile, two years after the Senate passed the Sexual Harassment Bill, a year after the House of Representatives, and the many representations made by civil society organisations and women groups, former President Muhammadu Buhari failed to give assent to the bill before exiting office.
Senator Ovie Omo-Agege and 106 senators sponsored the bill, which sought to prohibit sexual harassment in tertiary institutions in Nigeria. The Senate, in July 2020, after the third reading, passed ‘A Bill for an Act to prevent, prohibit and redress sexual harassment of students in tertiary institutions and for matters concerned therewith 2019.
The bill, with 25 clauses, seeks to promote and protect ethical standards in tertiary institutions. It also seeks to protect students against sexual harassment by educators in tertiary institutions. It also proposes up to a 14-year jail term for offenders.
The bill was later transmitted to the House of Representatives for concurrence. The House, in February 2022, passed the bill after the Third Reading.
The Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, later constituted a seven-man committee, headed by Senator Opeyemi Bamidele (Ekiti Central) to harmonise the two versions of the bill passed by both Houses before it was sent to President Muhammadu Buhari for assent. Buhari never did.
Between January 2021 and June 2022, there were cases of sexual harassment involving lecturers in universities and polytechnics in the country.
In 2021, three lecturers of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Osun State, were dismissed over alleged sexual harassment of students. In April 2022, the institution also investigated sexual harassment allegations.
In January 2021, Kaduna State University dismissed a lecturer for sexually assaulting a student. In June and August of the same year, University of Lagos and the University of Port-Harcourt, Rivers State, each sacked a lecturer over allegations of sexual harassment.
The Federal Polytechnic, Bauchi in October 2021 sacked two lecturers over sexual harassment allegations. Also, an academic at Ignatius Ajuru University of Education was sacked for allegedly impregnating a female student. In June 2022, the Vice Chancellor, University of Abuja, Prof Abdul-Rasheed Na’allah, said two lecturers were dismissed over sexual misconduct.
Watch the video of the protest below.
