Appeal Court Upholds Ndifon Sentence, Orders Retrial

Nigeria’s Court of Appeal has upheld former University of Calabar law dean Cyril Ndifon’s two-year prison sentence on a count involving solicitation of explicit photographs from a female student, while ordering a retrial on a separate count in Cross River State. The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) says it plans to challenge the court’s jurisdiction ruling on that second count. The Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal affirmed Ndifon’s conviction on count one, which concerned soliciting pornographic, indecent and obscene photographs from a student through electronic communication. The sentence was imposed by the Federal High Court in Abuja in November 2025. The appellate ruling leaves that conviction and two-year term intact. Count two concerned an allegation that Ndifon conferred undue advantage, an offence under the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act. The Court of Appeal held that the Federal High Court lacked jurisdiction to hear that count and ordered the prosecution to begin proceedings before the High Court of Cross River State.