“From the foregoing findings, the panel has established the serial violations
of some of the extant rules and regulations regarding the following
conditions of service as amended or revised 2014 as follows:
- Major Misconduct-The panel established that the suspended Dean, Prof. Cyril Osim Ndifon was using his official position to both
intimidate and bargain for sexual favour from female students in the
Faculty of Law. - Gross Misconduct-
2.1. The panel established that the suspended Dean had been involved
in students’ exploitation. Elaborately, he had been perpetrating
cruelty against students by forestalling the graduation of especially
some female students at the appropriate time by withholding and
refusing to release their results and threatening some that they would never graduate from the Faculty or go to the law School.
2.2. The panel established that the suspended Dean was compelling
the law students to pay for a Faculty Journal that was non- existent
for three consecutive academic sessions.
In view of the foregoing violations, the panel makes the following
recommendations:
- That the suspended Dean of law should face the statutory
Disciplinary Committee of the University of Calabar for
appropriate sanctions applicable to acts of both Major and
Gross – misconduct.
The panel makes this recommendation in
view of Prof. Ndifon’s antecedents in the Faculty of Law, which
from the testimonies given by both staff and students are in
clear violations of the extant rules and regulations governing the
conditions of service of staff of the University of Calabar. He
has used his position as a lecturer and his position as Dean of
the Faculty of Law for non- edifying purposes, frustrating, traumatizing and jeopardizing the future of some of the
students, as well as the lecturers.
- The suspended Dean should be made to refund over three
million naira (N3m) realized from the payments made by the law
students for the Law Journal which he neither published nor
gave to the students. - That Comfort Jumbo be given another supplementary
examination since the suspended Dean collected her scripts for
Law of Evidence, law of Equity and Land law. - That the acting Dean should without delay arrange internal
defense for Barrister Anne Eruegi Agi to defend her Ph.D and encourage same to put in for promotion in the next promotion
exercise. - That the university should make a rule to stop lecturers from
asking students to come and see them at odd (after official)
hours and if need be, encourage the culture of not locking their
offices when consulting with students. This is consistent with
global best practice. - The former accountant of the Faculty of law, Mrs. Aniekan
Udeme Ekwere should be reprimanded for imposing
N1000/2000 on the students for stamping clearance receipts. - The former Faculty Officer, Mr. Robert Omang should be
cautioned for not seeking approval for the N500 he charged the
students, although such was meant to meet a need in the Faculty. - The university should bend backwards so as to come to the aid
of some law students who have been roaming around because
of the lapses in the Faculty of Law over the years. There should
be a call for such to come for supplementary examinations or
mop up. This will go a long way to help the University gain the
confidence among stakeholders and prove to the wider society
that the University cares and is not indifferent. - Further steps should be taken to clean up the mess in the
Faculty of Law. The seeds of discord planted over the years
need to be uprooted. The culture of borderization seems to be
entrenched both among staff and students. Such is unhealthy
for academic standards, discipline and merit. The younger
academics in the Faculty therefore, need re-orientation to the
noble ideals and values the University system stands for. This
can be achieved if they are willing to make conscious efforts to
work on some of the barriers that stand in the way of critical
thinking such as egocentrism and socio-centrism. It is indeed possible with God on the side of the University for old things to
pass away and for everything to become new in the Faculty of
Law, University of Calabar, Calabar. - CONCLUSION
The members of the Panel wish to thank the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Florence Banku Obi for counting them worthy for this
assignment. We hope that the above recommendations would be
implemented by Management for the good of the Faculty of Law, the
University and humanity.
Read full report here.
UNICAL-PANEL-REPORT-1