The Dean of the Faculty of Law, University of Calabar, Prof. Cyril Ndifon, has denied sexually harassing his students.
It would be recalled that some female students of the faculty recently staged a protest against the dean, claiming that he used his ‘groin to assess female students’.
However, in his reaction, Professor Ndifon said the protest was masterminded by some persons in the faculty, who had sworn to do everything possible in order to pull him down.
Ndifon accused the President of the Law Students Association of Nigeria, (LAWSAN), UNICAL branch, Benedict Otu, of coordinating the protest against him.
Denying any wrongdoing, Ndifon described the allegations as lies that were cooked from the pit of hell just to tarnish his image.
He said, “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 baselessly masterminded by my detractor, who had vowed to ensure that my image is dragged to the mud just because I won the faculty elections twice.
“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 holding 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 ongoing, we were told that some students were outside with placards, protesting against me, demanding that I should be unseated.
“From what I’m told, LAWSAN President, Benedict Otu, cajoled some students that they were to go for a meeting with the Vice Chancellor at her office, only to dish out placards bearing false representations about the Dean, and asked his colleagues to chant slogans that berated my personality.
“This won’t work. Colleagues of mine who are bent on tarnishing my reputation just to destroy me. The question is where are the victims of sexual harassment?
“Can someone harass girls without the ladies coming out to raise the alarm that they were sexually harassed?
“For Christ’s sake, I don’t teach Year 2 or Year one students, so I don’t know why they have chosen to drag my name in 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,” the don told a local publication.
