Tag: UNICAL Professor

 A Federal High Court, Abuja, on Friday, fixed May 16 for ruling on a motion filed by Prof. Cyril Ndifon, the suspended Dean of Faculty of Law, University of Calabar (UNICAL), seeking an order quashing the sexual harassment charge against him.

Justice James Omotosho fixed the date after Osuobeni Akponimisingha, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC)’s counsel, and the defence lawyer, Joe Agi, adopted their processes and presented their arguments for and against the motion.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Ndifon and his co-defendant, Sunny Anyanwu, had alleged that Akponimisingha was not qualified to practise as lawyer.

The duo, through their lawyer, Joe Agi, SAN, insisted that Akponimisingha’s name was allegedly not on the roll of Legal Practitioners in Nigeria pursuant to Section 2 of the Legal Practitioners Act.

They argued that the four-count amended charge preferred against them by ICPC was incompetent as a result of the disputed identity of the anti-graft agency’s lawyer.

They said the development had robbed the court of its jurisdiction to entertain the matter.

They, therefore, prayed the court to quashed the charge against them.

Read Also: ICPC lawyer not qualified to practice, Suspended UNICAL professor tells court

Akponimisingha, in his counter affidavit dated March 20, accused the suspended dean and his legal team of being jealous of his academic qualifications.

The lawyer, who attached his Nigerian Bar Association (NBA)’s Practising Licence document dated 2016 with the counter affidavit, said he graduated from law school.

He said contrary to the defence argument, the appellation “Dr” added to his name was as a result of an additional academic qualification acquired by him after he had been called to the Bar as a legal practitioner.

He equally alleged that the names of the lead counsel to the defendants, Joe Agi, SAN and other senior advocates appearing with him in the criminal case, were not on roll of Legal Practitioners in Nigeria with the appendage of “SAN.”

He argued that the fact that the appellation “Dr” was added to his name did not make the amended charge liable to be struck out.

Akponimisingha said he was duly called to the Nigerian Bar and had been licensed to practise law in the country.

“That I know as a fact that justices presiding over cases in courts in Nigeria were called to the Bar only with their given names without the appellation ‘Hon. Justice.’

“Therefore, the appellation ‘Hon. Justice’ added to their names by reason of their appointment as judges does not render their judgments invalid because their names do not appear on the roll call of Legal Practitioners as ‘Hon. Justices.’

“The name Joe odey Agi, SAN is not on the roll of Legal Practitioners in Nigeria. What exists on the roll is Agi Joseph Odey, year of call, 1985,” he said

Akponimisingha told the court that the present application by the defence was a delay tactics deployed to stall the smooth trial of the charge.

He urged the court to discountenance their plea.

(NAN)

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) yesterday played some nude videos of a female Diploma student of the University of Calabar (UNICAL) in the open court in evidence against Prof. Cyril Ndifon, the institution’s suspended Dean of the Faculty of Law.

The development occurred when ICPC’s lawyer Osuobeni Akponimisingha led Bwaigu Fungo, the fourth prosecution witness (PW4), in evidence in the ongoing trial of Ndifon and his co-defendant, Sunny Anyanwu, before Justice James Omotosho of a Federal High Court in Abuja.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Ndifon was, on January 25, re-arraigned alongside Anyanwu as the first and second defendants on an amended four-count charge bordering on alleged sexual harassment and attempt to perverse the cause of justice.

Anyanwu, who is one of the lawyers in the defence, was joined in the amended charge filed on January 22 by the ICPC on allegation that he called one of the prosecution witnesses on her mobile telephone during the pendency of the charge against Ndifon and threatened her.

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They were admitted to bail last Friday after a female student, identified simply as TKJ (not real name) by the court, one of the alleged victims of sexual assault by the don, completed her testimony.

NAN earlier reported that the court had admitted in evidence two mobile phones seized by the anti-corruption commission from Ndifon.

Justice Omotosho admitted the mobile devices, an Oppo Phone and a Tecno Pova Phone with their chargers after they were tendered by Akponimisingha, and the defence counsel, Joe Agi (SAN), did not oppose the application.

The marked tagged the Oppo and Tecno phones as exhibits “N” and “O”.

Also, in his testimony, a forensic and intelligence analyst with ICPC, Fungo, analysed three nude videos obtained from Ndifon’s Oppo Phone.

The PW4 said the videos were extracted from Exhibit “N” belonging to the professor, adding that they were videos of TKJ, as requested by Ndifon.

“The videos as sent by TKJ to the Exhibit N (Oppo Phone owned by Ndifon) is usually sent by the 1st defendant to another subscriber (another phone number),” he said.

Fungo said though about 16 videos were extracted, three were TKJ’s videos.

The witness said TKJ did the videos on September 26, last year.

The forensic analyst also played three of the videos of other female students but the judge directed him to limit it to videos relevant to the charge, which were TKJ’s.

When asked why Ndifon would have forwarded the videos sent to him by TKJ to another phone number, Fungo said it was meant to preserve the video for whatever reason.

Akponimisingha also requested for Exhibit “O” (Tecno Phone) and the witness was asked questions on some of the extractions.

During cross-examination, Agi asked Fungo if from the videos he played, TKJ did it involuntarily, and the witness said: “The acts of TKJ were involuntarily done.”

The PW4 added that from their forensic report, there was a part in the videos where TKJ said she was not comfortable sending the videos.

When Agi asked him if in one of the videos TKJ displayed a movement and was fidgeting to prove that the young lady did the videos without compulsion, Fungo simply said: “There was a movement.”

Also, Justice Omotosho had ordered the management of the Kuje Correctional Centre to allow Anyanwu access a medical facility of his choice with a view to treating himself.

The judge gave the order after Agi moved the application to the effect.

Justice Omotosho adjourned the matter till February 14 for continuation of trial.

A Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday, January 10, ordered the release of Prof Cyril Ndifon, the suspended Dean of the Faculty of Law, University of Calabar, UNICAL, on temporary bail to enable him to undergo glaucoma surgery.

The Nation reports that the embattled varsity don was earlier remanded in the Kuje Correctional Centre on Tuesday.

Justice James Omotosho gave the order following an application by Ndifon’s counsel, Okon Efut, SAN, which was not opposed by Osuobeni Akponimisingha, lawyer to Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC.

Read Also: Alleged sexual harassment: Court remands suspended UNICAL professor in Kuje Prison

Justice Omotosho, who said he had considered Ndifon’s oral bail application, admitted him to bail in the sum of N250 million with a surety who must swear to an affidavit of means and deposit his or her travel passport with the court registry.

The judge also ordered that the temporary bail would take effect from Jan. 10 to Jan. 25, when the formal bail application filed by Ndifon’s lawyer would be heard.

The matter was consequently adjourned until Jan. 25 and January 26 for the continuation of trial and hearing of the bail application.