- Allegedly rallying silent support for suspended dean
As the sexual harassment scandal concerning Prof. Cyril Ndifon. the now-suspended Dean, Faculty of Law, University of Calabar’s (UNICAL) continues to simmer, leaked audio messages appear to suggest that while investigations are ongoing in the school, the Minister of Women Affairs, Mrs. Uju Kennedy Ohanenye, is quietly contacting some of the female students and issuing subtle threats that suggest she is seeking support for the controversial lecturer.
In the meantime, the Minister has told an online magazine that about 10 persons have called to threaten her over the sexual harassment scandal adding that the First Lady has ordered a thorough investigation into the allegations.
And although Mrs. Ohanenye said she had also spoken with Prof. Ndifon who vowed that there are no specific sexual harassment complaints against him, the Vice Chancellor (VC) of the University, Prof. Florence Banku Obi insists that the mandate of the panel is sacrosanct.
The VC further revealed that she rebuffed the minister’s directive to hands-off the probe, noting that the mandate of the panel goes beyond sexual harassment.
Prof. Obi equally revealed that she has approved a two-week extension requested by the panel to conclude its probe, adding: “I told the Honourable Minister that I would send her a comprehensive report. But she cannot give me a deadline to submit the report. The mandate of the panel encompasses both sexual harassment and other academic issues as raised by the protesting students. It is an internal issue of the university. When the panel submits its report, I will submit it to my supervisors. I know the Honourable Minister is interested in the sexual harassment aspect; I will present that aspect of the report to her. We have not foreclosed any aspect of the investigation.”
It is worthy of note that an online petition has accused Ohanenye of interfering with some of the witnesses while urging Nigerians to call the minister to order.
The petition reads— Prof. Ndifon Saga, Faculty of Law UNICAL:
+234 803 801 8***.
Please let’s feel free to generously call Uju Kennedy, Nigeria’s Minister of Women Affairs, and ask her why she’s interfering in an ongoing panel of investigation to investigate sexual harassment and violation of UNICAL regulations.
She’s calling young students who testified, intimidating them and offering favours in exchange for SILENCE.
The executive of LAWSA UNICAL are agitated and angry that the Minister is calling up the survivors to threaten them. Even the President of LAWSA is being threatened along with other EXCO members by friends and cohorts of Ndifon
In August, a rash of protests swept UNICAL as female students of the law faculty turned out in their numbers to accuse Prof. Ndifon of persistent sexual harassment. Eventually, the university suspended Prof. Ndifon and convened a panel to investigate the allegations.
Uju Kennedy in the leaked audio could be heard questioning the victims’ motives and suggesting they were conspiring with certain individuals, including the VC, to unjustly malign and disgrace Ndifon.
She could be heard making threatening remarks, warning the students against lying or changing their testimonies, claiming she had recorded their conversation and that any false statements could result in jail time.
Mrs. Kennedy all through the three recorded conversations emphasised her position as a minister and her involvement in the case.
She however maintains that her primary concern is ensuring justice prevails.
Public affairs analysts have questioned why Kennedy appears to be drumming support for a man who has a history of messing with girls.
Moreover, an alumni of Ndifon, Female lawyers who reportedly passed through similar experiences are said to converging. One of them is said to have been very vocal and even spoke at a recent Twitter meeting organised by Prof. Joy Ezeilo SAN. “There is another who has told us that she is ready to testify if push gets to shove. They even feel bad that they didn’t do much in their time and so their children are now exposed.” Sources close to Law & Society Magazine disclosed that “the testimonies of these girls are heartbreaking.”
Another source said: “This Dean has a long history. One of my staff graduated from the same department and has stories of girls who even left the department and school because of Ndifon. I wonder why the perpetrator’s innocence is more important to the minister than the pain of the girls who are by her placement as a minister a primary role of protection and responsibility to ensure it does not happen. Well, it is a mere appointment not actually who she is. A MOTHER!”
According to one other aggrieved analyst: “The President and Minister of Education should step into the matter. Yes, there are procedures for action. We can see clearly that the rules of the game have not been followed. It is the duty of civil society to call out all those perpetrating evil acts for the general public to know. The Federal Ministry of Education, NUC, House Committee on Education, and its Senate counterpart should, as a matter of urgency, step into this matter. All relevant civil society groups should bombard these agencies, including the presidency, with wake-for-action letters. Our children must go to school to come out as total human beings.”
