A Federal High Court in Abuja has sentenced Professor Cyril Osim Ndifon, the suspended Dean of the Faculty of Law, University of Calabar (UNICAL), to five years’ imprisonment, with no option of fine, following his conviction on sexual harassment charges.
Delivering the judgment, Justice James Omotosho held that the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) had proven beyond a reasonable doubt the allegations in the first two counts of the amended charge. The court imposed two years’ imprisonment on count one and five years on count two, to run concurrently.
In contrast, the court discharged and acquitted Sunny Anyanwu, Ndifon’s lawyer, of all charges. The judge ruled that the ICPC had failed to link the accusations in counts three and four to the second defendant.
The Charges
The ICPC’s amended charge, filed on 19 January 2024, comprised four counts against Ndifon and Anyanwu.
Counts one and two accused Ndifon of sexually harassing female students. According to the prosecution, while serving as UNICAL’s Law Dean, he asked a diploma student—identified only as TKJ, the star witness—to send him “pornographic, indecent and obscene photographs of herself” via WhatsApp.
The ICPC also claimed he solicited oral sex from her: on separate occasions, he allegedly “asked TKJ to give him ‘a blow job’ as an exchange for gaining admission into the institution to study law.”
Count three was filed solely against Anyanwu, while count four implicated both Ndifon and Anyanwu in attempting to pervert the course of justice. Specifically, the ICPC alleged that Anyanwu called TKJ on her mobile phone during the trial to intimidate her.
The Trial
The ICPC closed its case on 14 February 2024 after calling four witnesses, including a forensic analyst.
Ndifon and Anyanwu argued that no case should be made, but on 6 March 2024, Justice Omotosho dismissed their no-case submission, ruling that the prosecution had made a prima facie case.
In his defence, Ndifon testified as DW-1, contending that photographs extracted from his phone had been “edited.”
He was supported by a forensic analyst from the Office of the National Security Adviser, who testified as DW-2.
The Court’s Findings
Justice Omotosho, in delivering judgment, found that Ndifon had abused his office and taken “undue advantage” of TKJ’s desire for admission, given his position as Dean.
“The 1st defendant abused his office,” the judge said, recalling the “many instances of undue advantage.”
He further observed that Ndifon was not “a witness of truth” and could not be believed by a reasonable court. “Consequently, the 1st defendant is hereby convicted of count one and count two,” he declared.
That said, because Ndifon was a first-time offender, the judge considered mitigating circumstances, as argued by the defence.
Regarding Anyanwu, the court acknowledged that he made the phone call to TKJ, but noted that it occurred approximately four months before the investigation began.
The court said it could not speculate as to his motive: “the court cannot assume or speculate the intention of the 2nd defendant at the time the act was committed.”
For that reason, the judge acquitted him on both counts three and four. However, Justice Omotosho strongly criticised Anyanwu, calling his action “unprofessional,” and condemned Ndifon’s conduct as “immoral” and unbecoming of a law professor.
“It was with dismay that I read through this case that a Dean of Law can turn himself into a sexual predator,” the judge stated.
He described Ndifon’s behaviour as a “disgrace to the community of learned persons” and said the sentence should act as a deterrent to others in public office.
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