The University of Calabar has been confirmed as the host of the 28th edition of the Nigerian University Games Association Games, scheduled for August 2026.

NUGA announced this in a Facebook post on Wednesday, stating that the Vice-Chancellor of the university, Prof. Offiong Efanga Offiong, formally received the hosting flag and signed the Memorandum of Agreement, officially granting UNICAL the mandate to host the Games.

“The University of Calabar is officially set to host the 28th NUGA Games.

“The Vice Chancellor, Prof. Offiong Efanga Offiong, formally received the hosting flag and signed the Memorandum of Agreement (MoA), officially granting the university the mandate to host the Games,” the statement read.

According to NUGA, the flag handover and MoA signing took place during a courtesy visit by the NUGA Games Committee, led by the Chairman of UNICAL NUGA Games 2026, Prof. Lukas Ogunjimi.

“The flag handover and MoA signing took place during a courtesy visit by the NUGA Games Committee, led by the Chairman of UNICAL NUGA Games 2026, Prof. Lukas Ogunjimi.

 “The Vice Chancellor assured the delegation of the University’s full commitment to delivering what he described as ‘the best NUGA Games ever,’ while highlighting Calabar’s reputation as a peaceful and welcoming host city,” the post added.

The association also disclosed that the Cross River State Government will serve as the Chief Host for the Games, with preparations already underway ahead of the event.

“With the Cross River State Government serving as Chief Host, preparations are already underway for the Games scheduled for August 2026, as UNICAL positions itself to deliver a memorable sporting and cultural experience for athletes, officials, and guests from across the country,” the statement said.

Recall that the 27th edition of the NUGA Games was hosted by the University of Jos and held in November 2025.

The competition brought together student-athletes from universities across Nigeria to compete in various sporting events under the theme Unity, Play, and Peace, celebrating sportsmanship, youth empowerment and cultural integration.

Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Kaduna State, has secured provisional hosting rights for the 29th Nigerian University Games scheduled for 2028, marking a return of the biennial event to the institution after more than two decades.

(PUNCH)

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The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, on Monday, convicted the suspended Dean of the Faculty of Law, University of Calabar, UNICAL, Prof. Cyril Ndifon, and sentenced him to five years imprisonment for sexually harrasing his female students.

The court, in a judgement that was delivered by Justice James Omotosho, found him guilty on two out of a four-count charge the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, preferred him.

However, the court discharged and acquitted his co-defendant and lawyer, Mr Sunny Anyanwu, who was accused of attempting to pervert the course of justice in the matter.

It was the position of the court that evidence the prosecution adduced before it, did not nail the 2nd defendant to the commission of any offence.

While Justice Omotosho sentenced Prof. Ndifon to two years in prison in one of the counts of the charge that was sustained by the court, he was handed five-year jail term on another count.

The court held that both sentences would run concurrently.

The ICPC had alleged that Ndifon, while serving as the Dean of the Faculty of Law at UNICAL, harassed his female students by demanding explicit photos from them.

He was alleged to have asked a particular female diploma student whose identity was replaced with the pseudonym ‘TJK’, to send him “pornographic, indecent and obscene photographs of herself” through WhatsApp chats.

The said student was among the four witnesses the ICPC produced that testified before the court.

Allegations against the defendants bordered on sexual harassment, cybercrime, and attempting to pervert the course of justice.

After the ICPC closed its case on February 14, 2024, the embattled Dean filed a no-case-submission which the court dismissed on March 6, 2024, and ordered him to open his defence to the charge.

In his defence, Prof. Ndifon testified as his own witness, while one CSP Babagana Mingali, a forensic analyst at the laboratory of the Office of the National Security Adviser, ONSA, also appeared as second witness, DW-2.

While denying the allegation against him, the 1st defendant insisted that the prosecution failed to, by way of any credible evidence, establish a prima-facie case against him.

He contended that the totality of the testimony of all the witnesses, among whom included the alleged victim, were not sufficient or such that any court could rely upon to make a conviction.

Vanguard Credited.

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Clinical lecturers under the umbrella of Medical and Dental Consultants’ Association of Nigeria (MDCAN) at the University of Calabar (UNICAL) have embarked on an indefinite strike, to protest what they described as deliberate exclusion from the ongoing process to appoint a new Vice Chancellor.

The action followed the University Governing Council’s failure to revise a recent job advert that, according to the doctors, discriminated against clinical lecturers.

A letter to UNICAL Vice Chancellor and Governing Council members, jointly signed by Dr Patience Odusolu, chairman, and Dr Ehiosun Aigbomian, secretary, indicated that the protest stemmed from a vacancy notice published in the Daily Sun newspaper on May 27, 2025, which stipulated that candidate for the position of Vice Chancellor must hold a PhD.

But, the MDCAN leadership contended that the clause effectively disqualified its members, many of whom hold the Medical Fellowship qualification, a globally recognized terminal degree for clinical academic staff.  The Association said they had in an earlier petition to the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council, expressed utmost dismay at the advert, stressing that the requirement is a premeditated and intentional disenfranchisement of qualified medical and dental specialists.  

It noted that the exclusion violates guidelines issued by the Federal Ministry of Education, which recommend inclusive criteria for Vice Chancellor recruitment across federal universities.

MDCAN referenced similar incidents, particularly at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, where a similar exclusionary process reportedly led to major unrest and required presidential intervention.

It further highlighted that other prominent federal institutions, including Ahmadu Bello University and the University of Benin, have issued more inclusive VC appointment adverts in line with best practices.

It noted that despite a formal engagement with the Pro-Chancellor on June 3 and follow-up memos dated June 2 and June 9, the university’s Governing Council was yet to respond or amend the publication, hence the decision of the MDCAN at its emergency meeting held on June 13, 2025, to declare indefinite strike and withdrawal of services by all clinical lecturers in the school and the University Teaching Hospital.

The association said the strike is expected to disrupt academic activities within the college of medical sciences and health services at the university’s teaching hospital, where many clinical lecturers serve dual roles as medical educators and consultants.

Meanwhile, similar tension is also mounting at the University of Uyo (UNIUYO) as medical consultants and clinical lecturers under the umbrella of MDCAN, University of Uyo Teaching Hospital (UUTH) chapter, have expressed outrage over what they described as deliberate exclusion from the ongoing selection process for the office of Vice Chancellor, and could declare a strike soon.

The association in a petition addressed to the University Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council, condemned the criteria outlined in a vacancy advert published on May 29, 2025, which, they said, was designed to disenfranchise medical academics and favour a narrow group within the university.

The letter jointly signed by the Chairman of MDCAN University of Uyo, Dr Ibiok Uendiah, and the Secretary, Dr Solomon Bassey, respectively, indicated that the advert’s insistence that applicants must hold a PhD is not only discriminatory, but fails to recognize the long-established and government-approved qualification pathway for clinical lecturers, which is the Medical Fellowship.

The association warned that if the discriminatory advert is not withdrawn and revised, inclusive version published, they may be forced to resume their previously suspended strike.

“We cannot guarantee industrial harmony if these policies are not reversed. Our suspended industrial action was originally paused in good faith to allow management to address long-standing concerns.

“We have given the Governing Council a two-week window ending July 1, 2025, to take corrective action, and failure to address the matter could trigger a full-scale disruption of academic and health services,” they said.

Daily Sun Credited.

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The management of the National Youth Service Corps has lamented that the University of Calabar once mobilised a bread seller on its graduation list for the one-year mandatory national service.

It said as part of moves to restore sanity, it has demobilised 54 illegally mobilised graduates of the university to prevent the award of Certificates of National Service to unqualified persons.

This was contained in a statement signed by the scheme’s Director of Information and Public Relations, Eddy Megwa, on Friday.

The statement quoted the Director General of the NYSC, Brigadier-General Yusha’u Ahmed, as disclosing this in Abuja on Friday, adding that the illegal graduates would be prosecuted accordingly.

He said of the 54, 19 of them initially registered online for mobilisation, have been prevented from service, while four Certificates of National Service for other culprits, were not produced by the Scheme.

Recall that the NYSC had earlier on Monday, invalidated the Certificates of 101 illegally mobilized graduates of UNICAL, who were part of the scheme between 2021-2023.

Following the invalidation of the certificates, the Pro-Chancellor of the University, DIG Udom Ekpoudom (retd.), commended the scheme for exposing fake graduates who were fraudulently mobilised, pledging to take action against staff involved in the mobilisation of fake graduates from the institution.

The NYSC DG disclosed that a bread seller had been illegally mobilised from the university, while commending the Vice-Chancellor, Prof Florence Obi, for hinting the NYSC about the illegal mobilisations.

“The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Calabar came here to report that she observed some names appeared on the institution’s list and they ought not to have been there. She checked the list the school gave us and I told her that their certificates would be invalidated. I give kudos to the Vice-Chancellor.

“Previously, a bread seller was mobilised on the graduation list from the same institution, there are bad eggs in many places that generate matriculation numbers and courses for their candidates”, the DG said.

He stated further that the Scheme would intensify its collaboration with Heads of Corps Producing Institutions and relevant stakeholders in the country to stop the menace.

Ahmed added that any failure in the mobilisation process from any school falls on the integrity of the management of such an institution, stating, “Those who are responsible for imputing the data of graduates should be people of integrity.”

He called on all employers of labour in the country to verify the authenticity of Certificates of National Service being presented for job placement from the NYSC.

Punch Credited

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The suspended Dean, Faculty of Law, University of Calabar, (UNICAL) Professor Cyril Ndifon has been ordered to be remanded in the Abuja Kuje Prison over alleged sexual assaults.

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) arraigned Ndifon in court on four counts of alleged sexual misconduct against some of his students.

Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court, Abuja ordered that Professor Cyril Ndifon, the suspended Dean of Faculty of Law, University of Calabar (UNICAL), be remanded at the Kuje Centre of the Nigerian Correctional Service pending the conclusion of his bail application.

According to the Commission’s Spokesperson, Mrs. Azuka Ogugua, in a statement said, “The Professor of Law however pleaded not guilty when the charges were read to him.”

Counsel to the defendant, Okon Efut had prayed that the defendant be granted bail as the application for that had been filed on his behalf on January 2nd, 2024.

However, counsel to the ICPC, Dr. Osuobeni Ekoi Akponimisingha opposed the bail application on the ground that one of the lawyers representing the defendant, Barrister Sunny Anyanwu had allegedly threatened one of the star witnesses ICPC lined up for the trial.

In his defence, Barrister Anyanwu, who had earlier argued that the name of the said witness was not listed in the charges read, later told the court that it was the “witness” that called him.

Justice Omotosho however directed Barrister Anyanwu to file his affidavit of fact within 48 hours over the threat allegation of ICPC witness leveled against him.

He also ruled that the defendant, Professor Cyril Ndifon, be remanded at the Kuje Correctional Centre till the next adjourned date of hearing

Mr Ndifon, a professor of law, was indicted by an investigating panel set up by the University of Calabar after several female students accused him of sexual harassment.

The State Security Service (SSS) afterward arrested him in October and handed him over to the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) for prosecution.

The ICPC, on 2 November, preferred a 14-count charge against Mr Ndifon, after investigations which was later amended to four.

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