The police in Cross River State, on Thursday, dismissed claims that the suspended lecturer of the University of Calabar (UNICAL), Prof. Cyril Ndifon, was abducted.
Ndifon, until recently Dean of the Faculty of Law at UNICAL, was suspended by the university’s Senate over alleged sexual harassment of students, among others.
The lecturer’s son, David Ndifon, had earlier told journalists that gunmen invaded their residence at Akpabuyo in Akpabuyo Local Government Area and fired gunshots sporadically before taking the professor away.
He said the incident occurred between Wednesday night and the early hours of Thursday.
“We have been trying our best and making necessary calls to ensure his safe return,’’ the younger Ndifon had said.
However, the police, through a statement issued on Thursday night by the command’s spokesperson Irene Ugbo, said the university don was not kidnapped but was picked up by security agents.
She added that the rumoured abduction was aimed at causing panic in the State.
The spokesperson said: “Police hereby state that Prof. Ndifon was not kidnapped as speculated but arrested by a government security agency for interrogation.
“Police also advise members of the public to disregard information on social media platforms about the purported abduction as it is subversive.
“It is misleading and a calculated attempt to cause panic or breach of the peace enjoyed in the State.”