A former dean has lost his bid to overturn a conviction for pressuring a student under his authority into sending him explicit photographs, after the Court of Appeal in Abuja upheld his two-year prison sentence.
Professor Cyril Osim Ndifon, who once headed the Faculty of Law at the University of Calabar, will now serve the term following the appellate court’s ruling on Thursday, September 18, in Appeal No. CA/ABJ/CR/1798/2025.
At the heart of the case is a familiar and troubling dynamic: a senior academic using the power he held over a young woman’s education to pursue her for indecent images.
Evidence at trial showed Ndifon used electronic communication to solicit pornographic and obscene photographs from a female student while he served as Dean, a position that gave him considerable sway over her academic future.
The Federal High Court in Abuja, in a judgment delivered by Justice James Omotosho, found that prosecutors had proven the case beyond reasonable doubt. Ndifon was convicted on November 17, 2025 and handed two years on the photo-solicitation charge, prosecuted under Section 24 of the Cybercrime Act, alongside a separate five-year sentence on a second count with both terms set to run concurrently.
Ndifon appealed, but the Court of Appeal was unmoved on the central offence, affirming both his conviction and the two-year sentence for exploiting his position to solicit the images.
The appellate court did, however, side with him on a technical point regarding the second charge of conferment of undue advantage under the ICPC Act, ruling that the Federal High Court had no jurisdiction to hear that count.
It directed that prosecution on that charge instead proceed before the High Court of Cross River State. The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) says it is preparing to challenge that jurisdictional ruling but stressed it has no bearing on the affirmed conviction.
“The conviction for soliciting pornographic, indecent and obscene photographs from a student remains affirmed by the Court of Appeal,” the Commission said, adding that it remains committed to prosecuting officials who exploit institutional authority over those under their influence.
The case has drawn attention to the vulnerability of students to abuse by figures with power over their academic standing, and the ICPC signalled the ruling would not be the last word, promising updates as further legal proceedings unfold.
