What Is Happening In Unical’s Law Faculty?

Four years after the BBC’s “Sex for Grades” documentary, Nigerian institutions have shown no signs of change and continue to be rife with perverted lecturers.

On Monday afternoon, reports surfaced on Twitter about protests within the University of Calabar (Unical). The protests, led by female law students, were in response to alleged gross sexual misconduct by their Dean, Professor Cyril Ndifon. According to the students, Ndifon had engaged in unwarranted sexual advances, including harassment and unwanted touching, and demanding sexual favours in exchange for grades, along with engaging in other inappropriate sexual behaviour and manipulating the faculty’s law school admission process. Outraged by the injustice, the students gathered in front of their faculty building carrying placards that read, “Enough of law school list manipulation,” “The faculty of law is not a brothel,” amongst others. Unical has issued a warning, threatening to expel any student who persists with the protests. However, undeterred, the students have continued their march, driven by the pursuit of justice against their Dean. This incident isn’t the first time Cyril Ndifon has been accused of sexual assault.

In August 2015, Unical received a letter from Irene Akpan, a concerned parent, reporting that her 20-year-old daughter had been raped by the same Cyril Ndifon between 3-5pm on August 29. Ndifon, having torn the final year student’s test scripts during an earlier test, lured her into his office under the pretense of discussing the matter. Upon their meeting, he made unwanted advances towards her. When she rejected his advances, he allegedly forcibly engaged in sexual activity with her. The student filed a complaint and instituted legal action against Ndifon to hold him accountable. Ndifon was suspended indefinitely the following year, pending the case’s resolution. By 2017, a court exonerated him of the charges, and in 2021, under the leadership of VC Florence Obi, Ndifon was reinstated as Dean of Law at Unical. Despite backlash and criticism for this decision, Unical has been unflinching and even celebrated his return to their fold.

Instances similar to Ndifon’s are not unique in Nigerian universities; instead, they represent a disturbing pattern that spans wide. Whenever such incidents come to light, countless students recount their disheartening ordeals, implying that nearly every university harbours its share of problematic lecturers, which rarely occur in isolation. Despite some students bravely reporting such matters to higher authorities, the outcomes are often disappointing. More often than not, these lecturers face little or no consequences, such as suspension, and upon their return, they often exhibit even harsher attitudes towards these students. Aware of this cycle, many students choose silence and avoid such lecturers altogether, leaving conversations about these matters confined to gossip or as warnings to others.

The “Sex for Grades” documentary is a prime example of the shortcomings within our justice system. Even though video evidence showed two Unilag lecturers luring a student into a “red room” for sex, disciplinary actions taken against them remain unclear, with speculations circulating that one of the lecturers has retained his position in the school. Some Unilag students have openly stated that the “red room” still exists to this day, and sexual harassment continues without interruption.

Prof. Ndifon has reacted to the ongoing protests by organizing his own counter-protest. A social media post shared by a Unical law student indicates that he’s forcing fellow students to participate. Dr. Mike Otu, another lecturer alleged to harass students, stands by him in this decision. This isn’t the first time Prof. Ndifon has employed such tactics. In the course of the rape suit, he filed a countersuit in September 2016 against the university. He contended that the institution lacked the authority to extend his suspension beyond the statutory three months, as stipulated by the University of Calabar Act, LFN, 2004. However, the suit was ultimately dismissed. In 2017, he attempted to thwart the ICPC’s investigation and prosecution efforts, but this was also dismissed. Evidently, Ndifon appears unwilling to take accountability. We can only hope that justice will be served this time around and our institutions sanitized of such heinous behaviour.