Calabar University Panel: Law Prof Ndifon Found Guilty Of Gross Misconduct, Ordered To Return N3 Million

In August, female students from the Faculty of Law at the University of Calabar (UNICAL) staged a protest on campus, demanding the immediate removal of Prof. Cyril Ndifon, the Dean of the Faculty, over allegations of sexual harassment.

Despite Ndifon’s claim that these allegations were politically motivated due to his victory in a faculty election, the university management took the matter seriously and suspended him. A probe panel was subsequently constituted to investigate the allegations.

The probe panel was led by Prof. Dorothy Oluwagbemi-Jacob as Chairperson, and it comprised various members and observers, including Dr. Brenda Akpan, Prof. Patrick Egaga, Dr. Tony Eyang, Prof. Ayodeji T. Owolabi, Prof. Elizabeth Akpama, Barr. Gabriel O. Orok, and others.

The terms of reference given to the panel were extensive, including thoroughly investigating cases of sexual harassment and molestation against Prof. Ndifon and assessing allegations of abuse of office, extortion, and high-handedness. The panel was also tasked with determining whether the suspended Dean had serially violated the university’s rules and regulations and examining the allegation that a majority of the Dean’s supervisees and course representatives were female students.

The panel relied on oral and written submissions from victims, fellow lecturers, including professors, and the President of the Law Students Association (LAWSAN), Obi Benedict Otu. Their findings revealed that the suspended Dean had been compelling law students to pay for a Faculty Journal that had not been published for three consecutive academic sessions.

Based on its investigation, the panel found Prof. Ndifon guilty of gross misconduct, intimidation, sexual harassment, and exploitation of students. It was also established that he had been withholding results, jeopardizing the graduation of female students, and threatening some that they would never graduate from the Faculty or go to law school.

Consequently, the panel recommended that the suspended Dean should face the statutory Disciplinary Committee of the University of Calabar for appropriate sanctions applicable to acts of both Major and Gross misconduct. Additionally, it recommended that he should refund over three million naira (N3m) collected from law students for the Law Journal, which he neither published nor provided to the students.

The panel also made several other recommendations, including giving a supplementary examination to Comfort Jumbo, arranging an internal defense for Barrister Anne Eruegi Agi to defend her Ph.D., and encouraging her to participate in the next promotion exercise. The university was advised to establish rules to prevent lecturers from asking students to meet them at odd hours, promote a culture of not locking their offices when consulting with students, and address lapses in the Faculty of Law by conducting supplementary examinations or mop-up exams for affected students.

The report emphasized the need to eliminate discord and the culture of borderization among staff and students in the Faculty of Law. Furthermore, it called for the reorientation of younger academics to uphold the noble ideals and values of the university system, promoting critical thinking, and eradicating barriers such as egocentrism and sociocentrism.

The report concluded by expressing the belief that with the support of the university and a commitment to change, the Faculty of Law at the University of Calabar could undergo transformation and embrace new standards of academic excellence, discipline, and merit.

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