The University of Calabar’s (UNICAL) suspended Dean of the Law Faculty, Professor Cyril Ndifon, has filed a lawsuit against the university’s vice chancellor, Professor Florence Obi, and two other individuals, for character defamation.
Ndifon filed this complaint in Calabar’s National Industrial Court, adding Professor Dorathy Oluwagbemi-Jacob and the UNICAL Registrar as co-defendants. Ndifon claims in the case that the vice chancellor organised a protest against him with the help of the president of LAWSAN (Unical chapter), Mr. Obi Benedict Otu, and a woman named Destiny Omokiti, who also happens to be the VC’s niece, in order to damage his reputation.
He stated, “Shortly after this protest, Mr. Otu publicly admitted that he concealed the true purpose of the protest from unsuspecting students, including freshmen, and issued a public apology, which gained widespread attention on social media. As a result, my right to access the University of Calabar premises has been unjustly restricted by the vice chancellor, causing significant harm to my interests. Furthermore, the removal of my position as Dean of the Law Faculty was carried out without the necessary vote during a faculty of law board meeting, which is contrary to the provisions of the University of Calabar Act.”
In response to the lawsuit, the university’s Public Relations Officer, Mr. Effiong Eyo, clarified that the institution had merely established a panel to investigate the allegations against the embattled Dean of the Law Faculty.