The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has set up an ad hoc committee to investigate sexual harassment allegations levelled against Cyril Ndifon, suspended dean of the faculty of law at the University of Calabar.
According to a statement on Saturday by Akorede Lawal, NBA’s publicity secretary, the resolution to investigate the alleged misconduct was reached at a meeting by the national executive committee (NEC) of the association.
On August 14, some female students, led by Benedict Otu, the president of the Law Students Association of Nigeria (LAWSAN), staged a protest, demanding the sack of Ndifon over alleged sexual harassment.
But in a chat with CrossRiverWatch, the embattled dean debunked the allegations, describing them as “baseless”.
In less than 24 hours after his interview, the UNICAL management suspended the embattled lecturer in a letter signed by Gabriel Egbe, the university’s registrar, on Thursday.
“The NBA NEC subsequently empanelled an ad-hoc committee comprising the 1st Vice President of the NBA, Mrs Linda Rose Bala, the Assistant General Secretary of the NBA, Mr Daniel Kip, Chairperson of NBA Women’s Forum and the Chairman of the NBA Calabar Branch, to investigate the allegations against the University Don,” the statement reads.
Also, the NBA NEC asked Flora Azinge, a tribunal judge in Kano, to name the lawyer, a senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN), who allegedly attempted to bribe her with N10 billion.
Speaking in an open court before the commencement of the session on Tuesday in Kano, Azinge said the SAN in question has a pending case before the tribunal.
The statement added that the NBA has filed petitions against Hudu Yunusa-Ari, the suspended resident electoral commissioner in Adamawa state and Ifunanya Excel Grant, a young lawyer of the Aba branch, in Abia state.
While the petition against Yunusa-Ari concerns his role in illegally declaring the result of the supplementary 2023 gubernatorial election in the state while votes were still being counted, Grant, popularly known as “the baddest lawyer” on social media is being probed for her “notoriety of posting pictures and videos of herself unclad and smoking marijuana”.
