The Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, has affirmed the conviction of former Dean of the Faculty of Law, University of Calabar, Professor Cyril Osim Ndifon, over the solicitation of pornographic, indecent and obscene photographs from a female student. The appellate court upheld the Federal High Court’s judgment on Count One, prosecuted under Section 24 of the Cybercrime Act. 

The Federal High Court, presided over by Justice James Omotosho, had convicted Ndifon on November 17, 2025, and sentenced him to two years’ imprisonment without an option of fine on the first count. The sentence was ordered to run concurrently with a five-year sentence imposed on a second count concerning alleged conferment of undue advantage under the ICPC Act.

The Court of Appeal, however, reached a different conclusion on the second count. It held that the Federal High Court lacked jurisdiction to try the alleged offence under the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000, and ordered that Ndifon face prosecution on that count before the High Court of Cross River State. The ICPC said it is taking steps to challenge the jurisdictional decision.

The appellate decision therefore leaves the two-year conviction on Count One affirmed, while proceedings on the second count are to begin afresh before the appropriate state High Court.