Sexual harassment: Court jails University don for five years

The Federal High Court in Abuja has sentenced Cyril Ndifon, the suspended dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Calabar (UNICAL), to five years’ imprisonment for sexual harassment.

Justice James Omotosho delivered the judgement on Monday in a criminal case prosecuted by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).

Ndifon, a professor of law, was suspended as dean of the faculty after some female students of the faculty held a protest rally, accusing him of sexual harassment.

The lecturer, who had since denied the allegation, claimed that some of his colleagues, who were uncomfortable with his leadership style, had manipulated the students against him.

The ICPC had filed a four-count charge against the suspended professor in October 2023.

In count one, the defendant was alleged to have, between June and September 2023, used his office and position to gratify himself by soliciting nude photographs and videos from a Year 2 Diploma female student of the university through WhatsApp chats on his telephone number.

ICPC said the offence is punishable under Section 19 of the Corrupt Practices And Other Related Offences Act, 2000.

In count two, Ndifon was alleged to have corruptly requested nude photographs and videos from a 400-level female student of the Faculty of Law with the plan of changing her project supervisor to himself to guarantee favourable grades for her, contrary to and punishable under Section 8(1)(a)(ii) of the agency’s Act.

In count three, he was alleged to have corruptly requested to see photographs of a 16-year-old prospective post-UTME female student as an inducement to consider her for admission into the Faculty of Law, contrary to and punishable under Section 18(d) of the Act.

Count four accused him of causing a female student to send pornographic, indecent, and obscene photographs of herself to him through WhatsApp chats on his telephone number between May and September 2023, an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 24 of the Cybercrime (Prohibition & Prevention) Act, 2015.

Meanwhile, an amended charge dated 19 January 2024 added Sunny Anyanwu, one of Ndifon’s lawyers, as a second defendant.

Mr. Anyanwu was accused of attempting to obstruct justice by contacting the key witnesses during the trial.

The suspended professor committed the offences while serving as a public officer charged with responsibility for the certification of students as fit for learning and character as a prerequisite for the award of a bachelor’s degree in law and admission into the Nigeria Law School.

Delivering judgement on Monday, Mr. Omotosho ruled that the ICPC has proved the evidence in counts one and two beyond reasonable doubt.

“It was with dismay I read through this case that a dean of law can turn himself into a sexual predator,” he said.

“The instances of undue advantage (against the female students) are so many. The first defendant abused his office.”

The judge therefore sentenced Ndifon to a two-year jail term in count one and a five-year imprisonment in count two without the option of a fine. He held that the sentences must run concurrently.

According to him, Ndifon’s testimonies were not credible because he was “not a witness of truth” and could not be believed by any reasonable court.

The judge noted that the court was lenient in the sentence because the convicted professor was a first-time offender and secondly because his lawyer, Oladimeji Ekengba, had earlier pleaded for leniency.

“This judgement should serve as a warning and lesson to any other randy lecturer who is still going around harassing female students that it is only a matter of time before the long hand of the law catches up with them,” he said.

On the second defendant, Mr Omotosho said that while Mr. Anyanwu indeed contacted the witness, the phone call took place months before the investigation began and before charges were filed against the UNICAL professor.

He said that although the lawyer’s action was improper, the court could not infer criminal intent in it.

The judge therefore acquitted Mr. Anyanwu, stressing that the ICPC’s evidence did not link the offences in counts three and four, where his name was mentioned in the amended charge.