UNICAL suspends Law professor, dean for "raping" 20-year-old student
The University of Calabar (UNICAL) said it has suspended a professor who is being investigated for allegedly raping one of his students.
Prof. Cyril Ndifon, who happens to be the first professor of Law from Cross River State, reportedly raped a 20-year-old 400-level student of UNICAL on August 29.
Ndifon is also the Dean, Faculty of Law at the school.
He was suspended after Mrs. Irene Akpan (not her real name), the mother of his alleged victim, wrote a petition to UNICAL claiming the man raped her daughter.
Police said they briefly arrested the professor on Wednesday. He was later released.
Mrs Akpan narrated how Ndifon allegedly raped her daughter sometime between 3:00 and 5:00 p.m. on August 29.
She said the professor gave his students a test he assigned two other lecturers to supervise.
Ndifon, she said, entered the hall 20 minutes to the end of the exercise and the following happened.
“He walked straight to my daughter’s desk, collected the script and tore it. He left the torn script on her seat, so the girl collected the pieces and put them in her bag. According to her, you will still have to pass through the faculty before leaving the building.
“She said as they were leaving, the dean accosted her again and asked if she still had the shredded script. She said yes. He instructed her to follow him to the general dean’s office to recopy the answers on another plain sheet, which she did.”
“My daughter followed him to the general office where two people were, including the dean’s secretary. The office of the dean is on the first floor of the building, according to my daughter.
“She said while writing in that office, the dean who had earlier gone out, came in again and instructed her to follow him to his private office on the second floor so that she could comfortably use the table.”
It was there, the mother said, Ndifon made advances at the lady. When she refused, he overpowered and raped her after a struggle, the mother said.
She said the lady was medical examined after her alleged ordeal. The report has since been submitted to the police who are also investigating the allegations.
UNICAL said Ndifon will not return to the lecture room pending the outcome of the investigations.
Allegations of sexual harassment and outright assault are common in Nigerian universities where some lectures fail students who refuse to get into bed with them.
Ndifon’s alleged rape of his student comes to light weeks after a prospective student of the University of Lagos was raped by a lecturer the school later disowned.
