University of Calabar, Cross River State, has suspended the Dean, Faculty of Law, Prof. Cyril Ndifon, over allegations of sexual harassment.

Female students of the law faculty recently held a peaceful rally against Mr Ndifon, a professor, whom they accused of harassing them.

Mr Ndifon denied the allegations. He said the protest was sponsored by lecturers in the faculty who did not like his style of leadership.

An online medium, quoted Ndifon stating that the protest was orchestrated by individuals within the faculty who held a grudge against him.

“For Christ’s sake, I don’t teach Year 2 B or Year one students, so I don’t know why they have chosen to drag my name into the mud. This was why I said earlier that the allegations were lies, cooked from the pit of hell, just to destroy a reputation that I had spent decades building,” he was partly quoted as saying.

But the University of Calabar, on Thursday, relieved Mr Ndifon of his position as the dean of law faculty and also suspended him from the school via a letter from the university Registrar, Gabriel Egbe, according to a statement from the school’s public relations department.

The statement said the university Vice-Chancellor, Florence Obi, was dissatisfied with Mr Ndifon’s response to a query on the sexual harassment allegations.

“The matter is referred to a panel that will be set-up to investigate the allegations levelled against him,” the statement said.

“You are to hand over all University property in your possession including all official responsibilities presently handled by you to the Sub-Dean of the Faculty before vacating office.

”You are to stay away from the University premises except while responding to invitation from the panel investigating these allegations,” the registrar, Mr Egbe, told Mr Ndifon in the letter.

The vice-chancellor, Mrs Obi, had vowed that the school would investigate the allegations against the law professor but she said those making the allegations would be expected to bring up evidence.

On Tuesday, the university’s spokesperson, Eyo Bassey, said the school management had met with the aggrieved parties.

Bassey said, “By the end of today (Tuesday), we will issue a statement. Yesterday (Monday), the students came out with their protest, carrying placards, which you saw online bearing various inscriptions.

“They were invited by the vice-chancellor. The staffers of the Faculty of Law were invited to come and address management as well as their senior faculty staff about whatever might have been their complaints.

“They spoke and raised a lot of issues. It is not even just about sexual allegations. There are all kinds of other issues they raised and management commended them for bringing the issues to their attention.”

Mr Ndifon was previously suspended by the school authority in 2015 after he was accused of raping a 20-year-old law student in his office, an allegation the professor challenged in court.

His suspension was lifted about a year later, under unclear circumstances.

CORRUPTION and ABIETTING 

Moreso, Queency Patrick, a lawyer and alumni of the Faculty of Law, University of Calabar in a piece narrates her encounter in the hands of the embattled Dean of faculty of law UNICAL, Prof. Cyril Ndifon.

Queency painted a horrid picture of victims of sexual exploitation in UNICAL.

Read her full story below;

”I read your story with a nostalgic depression.

I also studied in the faculty of Law Unical and can attest that your story is the experience of many female students from that faculty, not just from the not-distinguished not-prof but from other predatory sex wizards.

While Ndifon gave up on me in his short pursuit, I had a nightmarish schooling existence with a certain Thomas Ekpang.

Ekpang told me face to face that if I didn’t sleep with him, I will never be a lawyer! I was failing his course, land law, a core course, and rewriting it for 4 years post-graduation. I ended up studying law for 9 years as against 5 years. I was so traumatized and swore never to practice law in my life. One day, after his threats and taunts, I told him that no member of his family will ever be a lawyer.

I wrote all manner of petitions to the then Dean and then VC and nothing came out of it, I gave up and accepted my fate until Ekpang was removed as Final Year exams officer.”

”The stories of Unical sex predators is a different can of worms and I hope with this protest, the whole house will be cleaned out.

Like most cases of sexual harassment, assault and abuse, it is not easy for victims to speak up cos at some point you begin to feel everything happening to you is ur own fault. You begin to doubt your self when no body in authority is willing to help you. I remember going as far as reaching the Chair person of the LGA where this man comes from, a woman, to no avail.

For those who fell prey, shame becomes the cloud over you need for justice. In my class forum now, a lot of women are boiling over as a result of the remembrance of their encounters with these lecturers but none may speak out, we prefer to bury the trauma and allow it gnaw at us every time someone touches it. It is a sad situation.

I only pray and hope these young girls in this generation will get justice and thereby assuage the wounds of many.”

– Queency Patrick.