…orders fresh trial on second count
The court of appeal in Abuja has upheld the conviction and two-year jail term imposed on Cyril Ndifon, former dean of the faculty of law at the University of Calabar (UNICAL), for soliciting pornographic photographs from a female student.
In a judgement delivered in Appeal No. CA/ABJ/CR/1798/2025, the appellate court affirmed the decision of the federal high court in Abuja on the first count of the charge.
In a statement issued on Friday, Okor Odey, spokesperson for the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), said the appellate court held that the federal high court lacked jurisdiction to try the second count.
Odey said the court ordered the anti-graft agency to commence a fresh prosecution on the second count before the high court of Cross River state.
Ndifon was convicted by the federal high court on November 17, 2025, and sentenced to two years’ imprisonment on the first count and five years on the second. The sentences were ordered to run concurrently.
The first count was brought under section 24 of the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act, 2015, over allegations that Ndifon, while serving as UNICAL’s dean of law faculty, solicited “pornographic, indecent and obscene photographs” from a female student through electronic communication.
James Omotosho, the presiding judge, held that the prosecution had established the offence beyond reasonable doubt.
The second count alleged that Ndifon conferred an undue advantage on himself, contrary to section 19 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000.
However, the court of appeal held that the trial court did not have jurisdiction to entertain that count under the ICPC Act.
The ICPC said it is taking steps to challenge the decision on the second count before the supreme court.
“The Commission considers the jurisdictional question arising from count two to be a matter requiring further judicial determination,” the statement reads.
Ndifon was removed as dean of the faculty of law at UNICAL in 2023 following allegations of sexual harassment involving female students.
The ICPC had alleged that Ndifon asked a female diploma student, identified as TKJ, to send him pornographic and obscene photographs through instant messaging.
The commission also accused him of demanding sexual acts from the student in connection with her admission to the university.
At the trial, the prosecution relied on witness testimony and electronic communications between Ndifon and the student.
