The University of Calabar (UNICAL) has launched an investigation into allegation of sexual harassment made against the Dean of the Faculty of Law, Prof. Cyril Ndifon.
The allegations were raised by students of the institution, after which it gained widespread attention through a viral video on social media.
In the video, students of the Faculty of Law accused Prof. Ndifon of sexual assault and harassment.
They demonstrated their discontent by staging a protest at the office of the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Florence Obi.
During the protest, the aggrieved students held placards bearing inscriptions such as “Ndifon must go for our sanity,” “We are tired of buying law journals,” and “Law girls are not your bonanza; Prof. Ndifon should stop grabbing us and others.”
In response, Prof. Ndifon denied the allegations, attributing them to individuals within the faculty who have a personal grudge against him.
The embattled don was quoted as saying: “For Christ’s sake, I don’t teach Year 2 B or Year one students, so I don’t know why they have chosen to drag my name into the mud.
“This was why I said earlier that the allegations were lies, cooked from the pit of hell, just to destroy a reputation that I had spent decades building”.
Reports quoting the spokesperson for the university, Eyo Bassey, as saying that the institution’s management engaged with the aggrieved parties in light of the protest.
“By the end of today (Tuesday), we will issue a statement. Yesterday (Monday), the students came out with their protest, carrying placards, which you saw online bearing various inscriptions.
Bassey indicated that the meeting with the students and faculty members led to the discussion of various concerns, not solely limited to sexual allegations.
He later promised that a comprehensive statement on the matter would be issued by the university.