The suspended Dean Faculty of Law, University of Calabar (UNICAL), Cyril Ndifon, has been sentenced to five years imprisonment without an option of fine. James Omotosho, the presiding judge in the case, handed down the sentence at the Federal High Court in Abuja yesterday.

In 2023, Ndifon was removed as a UNICAL dean over alleged abuse of office and sexual harassment, with female students as victims. The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) had charged Ndifon alongside his co-defendant, Sunny Anyanwu.

Counts one and two, of four, accused Ndifon of sexually harassing some female students of the school. The ICPC said Ndifon, while serving as a dean at UNICAL, asked a female diploma student identified as TKJ to send him “pornographic, indecent, and obscene photographs of herself” through instant messaging.

He was also accused of having, on different occasions, asked TKJ to give him “a blow job” as an exchange for gaining admission to law.

Count three said Anyanwu, who was earlier a member of Ndifon‘s team of lawyers, attempted to influence the course of justice by threatening a prosecution witness to discourage her from cooperating with the ICPC. In March 2024, Ndifon prayed the court to quash the criminal charges against him.