A Federal High Court sitting in Calabar has ruled that the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), has the right to investigate a former Dean of the Faculty of Law, University of Calabar, Professor Cyril Ndifon, over an allegation of abuse of office.
Justice I. E. Ekwo who delivered judgment on Thursday 2nd March, 2017 in a suit brought against ICPC by the Professor of Law, in which he sought to restrain the Commission from investigating the alleged offence of demanding for sexual gratification from a female student of the University, maintained that it was within the purview of ICPC to investigate the case in accordance with the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act 2000.
The trial judge held that the police report which exonerated Ndifon had no bearing on the Commission’s investigation of an allegation of abuse of office against him.
He added that the offence of sexual gratification was contrary to Sections 8, 9, and 19 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000, which refer to any public officer who receives benefit of any kind in the discharge of his duties or uses his position to confer corrupt advantage upon himself.
It would be recalled that a final year law student had petitioned ICPC alleging that the Professor had sex with her in his office without her consent, after inviting her to the office to rewrite an earlier cancelled test.