Court remands randy UNICAL Dean over sexual harassment allegations
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
An Abuja Federal High Court on Thursday remanded in Kuje Correctional Centre, the University of Calabar (UNICAL) professor and faculty of law Dean, Cyril Ndifon, who attracted national attention in August 2023 over alleged sexual harassment of female students, for which he was eventually suspended.
Judge James Omotosho also remanded one of Ndifon’s lawyers, Sunny Anyanwu, in the correctional centre pending the hearing of their bail application.
The Judge gave the order after Ndifon was re-arraigned alongside Anyanwu on an amended four-count charge for alleged sexual harassment and an attempt to pervert the cause of justice.
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) is the complainant in the amended charge, Ndifon and Anyanwu are the 1st and 2nd defendants, according to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
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Charges against Ndifon and Anyanwu
Count one
Ndifon is alleged to have, between May and September 2023, while being in the employment of UNICAL as Dean of faculty of law, caused one Miss TKJ (not her real name), a diploma student of the university, to send pornographic, indecent and obscene photographs of herself to him through his mobile telephone number: 08037066222 vide WhatsApp charts, per Vanguard reporting.
The offence is contrary to and punishable under Section 24 of the Cybercrime (Prohibition & Prevention) Act 2015.
Count three
Anyanwu is alleged to have, sometime in November 2023 or thereabout, in Abuja during the pendency of the charge filed against Ndifon and on the prompting of the professor, called one of the prosecution witnesses on her mobile telephone.
Anyanwu allegedly threatened her not to honour the invitation of the ICPC in respect of the criminal investigation against Ndifon, which conduct he knew was intended to pervert the cause of justice.
The offence is punishable under Section 182 of the Penal Code Cap. 532 Laws of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, 2006.
Omotosho had on January 10 ordered the release of Ndifon on a temporary bail to enable him go for a glaucoma surgery.
