The Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday sentenced suspended Dean of Faculty of Law, University of Calabar, UNICAL, Prof Cyril Ndifon, to five years’ imprisonment without an option of fine over sexual harassment
The judgment held that the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, Justice James Omotosho proved the evidence in counts one and two beyond a reasonable doubt against the 1st defendant.
The judge sentenced Ndifon to a two-year jail term in count one and a five-year imprisonment in count two, which must run concurrently.
Justice Omotosho, however, discharged and acquitted Sunny Anyanwu, who was earlier a member of Ndifon’s team of lawyers, of the charges against him.
He ruled that the anti-corruption commission was unable to link the offenses in counts three and four, in which Anyanwu’s name appeared, to the co-defendant.
ICPC had, in the amended charge dated January 19, 2024, preferred four counts against Ndifon (1st defendant) and his lawyer, Sunny Anyanwu (2nd defendant).
The suspended professor was initially the sole defendant in the sexual harassment charge, Anyanwu was later joined as 2nd defendant in the amended charge.
This comes after allegations that Anyanwu had attempted to pervert the course of justice by calling the star witness on her mobile phone during the pendency of the charge against Ndifon to threaten her.
In the amended charge, counts one and two accused the professor of sexually harassing some female students of the school.
According to the Commission, Ndifon, while serving as the Dean of the Faculty of Law at UNICAL, asked a female Diploma student, identified as TKJ and a star witness, to send him “pornographic, indecent and obscene photographs of herself” through WhatsApp chats.
He was also accused of having, on different occasions, asked TKJ to give him “a blow job” as an exchange for gaining admission into the institution to study law.
In defending himself, Ndifon testified as the first defence witness (DW-1), while CSP Babagana Mingali, a Forensic Analyst who works at the laboratory of the Office of the National Security Adviser, ONSA, gave his testimony as DW-2.
Delivering the judgment, the judge said the commission had been able to prove the ingredients of the offences in counts one and two.
He observed that Ndifon was unable to controvert the evidence that he unduly pressurised TKJ to perform the immoral act with her.
He said: “The victim was desirous of being admitted into the university and the 1st defendant was in advantage to helping her being the dean and the diploma course is under his supervision,
“The instances of undue advantage are so much. The 1st defendant abused his office.”
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