UNICAL Law students protest sexual harrasment, extortion
Law students of the University of Calabar (UNICAL) on Monday, marched to the office of the institution’s Vice Chancellor, Prof. Florence Obi, to register their protest against alleged absenteeism, sexual harassment, and extortion by lecturers.
The students specifically accused Prof. Cyril Ndifon, the Dean of the Faculty of Law, of abusing female students sexually.
The students who took part in the protest were spotted carrying banners and were neatly dressed in black and white. They called on the university administration to step up and address their issues.
The placards had various inscriptions such as: “We Are Tired of Lecturers Not Attending Classes”, “Ndifon Must Go”, “We Are Tired of Buying Law Journals”, and “We Are Sexually Harassed”.
Prof. Obi, the Vice Chancellor responded by reassuring the students of the University authorities’ eagerness to address their issues while urging restraint.
The institution, according to her, was prepared to listen and was eager to help the students with their problems.
Miss Agatha Ayeni, a law student, expressed reluctance about the protest planned against the Dean of the Faculty of Law, highlighting the fact that Comrade Benedict Otu, President of the UNICAL branch of the Law Students Association of Nigeria (LAWSAN), took some students out for the protest against the wishes of the faculty because he didn’t meet the two-third major requirement before a protest is carried out.
Another student, who only went by the name Sylvester, expressed regret for taking part in the demonstration and claimed that they persuaded him and other of his peers to meet with the vice chancellor in her office, only to see students with various false inscriptions against the Dean, Prof Cyril Ndifon.
“Also, we have heard of Law Journal but we did not hear anything like sexual harassment. I think this is a manipulation of gullible students to achieve self-serving interest,” he stated.
According to another student, Emmanuel Williams, who denounced the protest the allegations regarding the Law Journal and the problem of some lecturers failing to show up for lectures, may be true. He also emphasized that the claim of sexual harassment was a complete blackmail intended to damage the reputation of the dean of the law faculty.
“The question is if Ndifon has been accused of sexual harassment, who then is the victim?
“We are all Law students and taught how to seek redress. Let any of the students who is said to have been sexually harassed by the Dean come out to raise alarm, rather than remain in the dark to make false allegations,” Williams said.
The University of Calabar’s Dean of the Law Faculty, Prof. Ndifon, responded to the situation by denying any misconduct and stating that the demonstrators’ accusations were baseless and intended to bring him down.
“It’s the handiwork of some elements in the faculty who sponsored the LAWSAN President to bring me down.
“I won elections twice to assume the position of Dean and some big men who felt Ndifon is not supposed to emerge as Dean are on it again and decided to sponsor a protest against me.
“It won’t work. If they are accusing me of sexual harassment without victims, I’m shocked that someone would go to this extent to satisfy his inordinate ambition” Prof. Ndifon stated.
