Female UniCal law students protest alleged sexual harassment by Dean

Hundreds of female students of the Department of Law of the University of Calabar on Monday afternoon, staged a protest march against a senior lecturer whom they accused of sexual harassment.

The students who stormed the main campus of the institution carrying different placards, reportedly accused the don identified as Prof Cyril Ndifon who is Dean of Faculty of Law of the University, of frequently harassing them sexually.

Eyewitnesses said the female students invaded the office of the Vice Chancellor and the school senate building chanting ‘Ndifon, go! go!’, armed with placards with inscriptions like “We are tired of sucking d…is for marks”, “Law Girls Are Not Bonanza” and “Prof Ndifon Must Stop Grabbing our Bum Bum”.

President of the Law Students Association of Nigeria, LAWSAN, Unical branch, Comrade Benedict Otu, who led the students in the protest against Ndifon, was quoted as saying they would not back down on their protest until the randy Dean is removed.

Read also: UNICAL bans indecent dressing among students, staff on campus

However, the embattled Prof. Ndifon who spoke to journalists, dismissed the allegations of sexual harassment and high handedness levelled against him by the students.

He rather claimed that the protest by the law students was masterminded by some persons in the faculty who had sworn to pull him down, insisting the allegations from the students were barefaced lies aimed at tarnishing his image.

“Since I defeated some persons in an election that was keenly contested, to emerge as Dean of the faculty, it hasn’t been easy. I had skipped several booby traps.

“These allegations are baseless and masterminded by my detractors who had vowed to ensure that my image is dragged through the mud just because I won the faculty elections twice,” he said.

“If you look at the placards, you will discover that the placards have one person’s handwriting. Again how come the protesters know that we were going to hold a meeting with the Vice Chancellor if it is not the handiwork of an insider?

“We were supposed to hold a meeting with the Vice Chancellor to enable us iron out important issues troubling us in the faculty. While the meeting was on-going, we were told that some students were outside with placards, protesting against me, demanding that I should be removed.

“This won’t work. Colleagues of mine are bent on tarnishing my reputation just to destroy me. The question is where are the victims of the sexual harassment?” He queried.

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