Unical law students protest against alleged sexual harassment by dean, Cyril Ndifon
Female students in the Faculty of Law, University of Calabar, in South-south Nigeria, held a peaceful rally on Monday inside the university campus to protest against the Dean of the faculty, Cyril Ndifon, whom they accused of sexual harassment.
A video clip of the protest posted on Twitter showed a handful of female students chanting protest songs in front of an administrative building inside the university.
“Prof Andifon, let the girls with big breasts breathe. Stop suffocating us,” read one placard displayed in the video.
A few male students took part in the protest.
The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Calabar, Florence Obi, told PREMIUM TIMES Monday evening that she addressed the protesting students and assured them that their complaints would be looked into.
Mrs Obi, a professor, vowed that the university management would investigate the allegations against Mr Ndifon but that the students would be required to provide evidence to back up their complaints.
“When you are talking about sexual harassment, you need more than accusation,” she said.
The vice-chancellor said the students on Thursday filed an official complaint to her and that a few of the students’ representatives met with her before the protest rally.
After the Monday protest, Mrs Obi met for about five hours with the faculty of law management to discuss the development, she said.
“A committee has already been set up to handle some other issues raised by the students,” she said.
Mr Andifon was previously suspended by the school authority in 2015 after he was accused of raping a 20-year-old law student in his office, an allegation the professor challenged in court.
His suspension was lifted about a year after, under unclear circumstances – our reporters could not find evidence that the court exonerated the professor.
The professor reacts
Mr Ndifon told PREMIUM TIMES that the protest against him was stage-managed by the President of the Law Students Association of the university, Ben Otu, whom he said was “merely a pun” in some power game in the law faculty.
“Some lecturers are the real people behind this,” he said.
Mr Ndifon said it was only 100 level students who were involved in the protest and that the students were lured out on the pretext that they were going for a lecture.
“He (LAWSAN president) removed the placards and gave to some of the students to carry. Some of the students ran away.
“How come it was only the year one students who protested, year one students that I have never taught? Where are the year two students, year three, year four, and year five students?”
“Ask the lecturers who are behind these things. I won an election. You should ask them if this man is that bad and unpopular, how come he won an election as dean with a landslide for first and second term?” the professor said.
“What have I done wrong? They say I run the faculty as an emperor. That is what I have done wrong.”
Mr Ndifon denied the sexual harassment allegation, saying he hardly knows the year one students in the faculty since he does not handle any of their courses.
PREMIUM TIMES reminded Mr Ndifon of a previous allegation of sexual harassment against him.
“At the end of the day, after all the noise, my guilt was that I tore a student’s (examination) script and gave her the opportunity to rewrite,” the professor responded.
PREMIUM TIMES could not immediately reach the LAWSAN president for his comment as his phone was switched off. PremiumTimes
