The Dean of the Faculty of Law, University of Calabar (UNICAL), Prof. Cyril Ndifon, has opened up on allegations of high handedness and sexual harassment levelled against him by some students of the Faculty.
During the protest, UNICAL female law students led by the President of the Law Students Association of Nigeria (LAWSAN), UNICAL branch, Benedict Otu, were seen in a viral video demanding an end to the sexual assault and exploitation allegedly perpetrated by Prof. Ndifon.
“We are tired of sucking dicks,” was boldly scribbled in black ink on a white placard which the students held to express their grievances against Mr Ndifon, dean of the law faculty, according to a video shared on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Monday, August 14, 2023.
Another placard said: “Prof Ndifon, let the girls with big breasts breathe, stop suffocating us!!!”
The disgruntled students, the majority of whom were female and dressed in the signature white shirts on black skirts, had gathered in front of a storey building presumed to be the law faculty, chanting “go”.
Female students of the Unical faculty of law are currently protesting against their Dean, Prof Ndifon Cyril. He is allegedly notorious for sexually harassing female student, & they're saying enough js enough. These students are now being threatened with expulsion. Lend a voice. pic.twitter.com/LBmYAOHaRP
— KWEKU THE HUSTLER, COMMANDER OF THE HEADLESS MOB (@urchilla01) August 14, 2023
However, defending himself yesterday in a telephone conversation with a local portal, CrossRiverWatch, Prof. Ndifon said that the protest was masterminded by some persons in the faculty, who had sworn to do everything possible in order to pull him down.
Denying any wrongdoing, Ndifon described the allegations as lies that were cooked from the pit of hell just to tarnish his image.
He said: “Since I defeated some persons in an election that was keenly contested, to emerge as Dean of the faculty, it hasn’t been easy. I had skipped several booby traps.
“These allegations are baselessly masterminded by my detractor, who had vowed to ensure that my image is dragged to the mud just because I won the faculty elections twice.
“If you look at the placards you will discover that the placards have one person’s handwriting. Again how come the protesters know that we were holding a meeting with the Vice Chancellor if it is not the handiwork of an insider.
“We were supposed to hold a meeting with the Vice Chancellor to enable us iron out important issues troubling us in the faculty, while the meeting was on-going, we were told that some students were outside with placards, protesting against me, demanding that I should be unseated.
“From what am told, LAWSAN President, Benedict Otu, cajoled some students that they were to go for a meeting with the Vice Chancellor at her office, only to dish out placards bearing false representations about the Dean, and asked his colleagues to chant slogans that berated my personality.
“This won’t work. Colleagues of mine who are bent on tarnishing my reputation just to destroy me. The question is where are the victims of sexual harassment.
“Can someone harass girls without the ladies coming out to raise the alarm that they were sexually harassed?
“For Christ 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 to 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.
Recall that some students in the Faculty of Law carried placards to the Vice Chancellor’s building protesting against what they described as high handedness of the Dean.
Other issues which the protesters accused the Dean of includes, sale of law journal, lecturers not showing up in class to lecture students and sexual harassment allegations.
However, the institution’s Vice Chancellor, Prof. Florence Obi, who addressed the protesting students called for calm and assured students of the university authority’s willingness to get the situation addressed.
She said that university management was ready to keep its doors open for all to access if need be, stressing that the authority would do everything possible to get the matter resolved.
In her reaction to the issue, a student of Law Faculty, Miss Agatha Ayeni, expressed sadness over the protest against the dean, stressing that the LAWSAN President, Comrade Otu, took a group of gullible students out to protest against the wish of the leadership of the faculty because he didn’t meet up with two third majority requirement before a protest is carried out.
Another law student, Sylvester, (surname withheld), who regretted participating in the protest, stated that he and other colleagues were cajoled to go for a meeting with the Vice Chancellor at her office, only to see placards bearing false representations about the Dean.
He said: “Also, we have heard of law journal but did not hear anything like sexual harassment. I think this is a manipulation of gullible students to achieve self-serving interest.”
Another law student, Emmanuel Williams, who condemned the protest, stated that allegations of sexual harassment was a blackmail to pull down the Dean.
He said, “The question is if Ndifon has been accused of sexual harassment who is the the victim(s)?
“We are all law students and taught how to seek redress. Can these so-called victims raise an alarm, rather than keeping mute?”
It would be recalled that in 2015, a young lady accused Prof. Ndifon of rape. He was suspended and later cleared of the allegations and reinstated to his position as Dean in 2017. (Based on reports by CrossRiverWatch and Peoples Gazette)
