‘Sexual Harassment’: UNICAL Professor Seeks Variation Of N250m Bail As Court Rules On No-Case Submission March 6

The suspended Dean of the Faculty of Law, Professor Cyril Ndifon, has asked the Federal High Court, Abuja, to vary his N250 million bail condition.

The court fixed March 6 to rule on the application as well as his no-case submission against the amended sexual harassment and gratification suit instituted against him and his lawyer, Barrister Sunny Anyanwu, by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).

THE WHISTLER recalls that TKJ, the second prosecution witness, had testified that Prof. Ndifon “forced her” to perform oral sex on him in exchange for help with admission into UNICAL.

Under cross-examination by the defence team led by Joe Agi, TKJ had also admitted that several allegations she made in open court — including being forced to perform oral sex on the professor — were not mentioned in her original statement to the ICPC, saying her experience was summarised out of “shame” and “fear.”

An official of the ICPC, Lucy Ogechi Chima (PW1), had also told the court that a forensic analysis carried out on the phone of the professor revealed nude photos of several contacts, including that of the star witness, TKJ.

The ICPC closed its case on February 14 after fielding an exhibit keeper as well as a forensic analyst, Fungo Bwaigu, who told Justice James Omotosho that the dean’s phone contained WhatsApp chats, nude videos, phone calls, and text messages involving TKJ, adding he was “not given TKJ’s phone by ICPC to analyze.”

But the professor through his lawyer, Joe Agi, maintained in his no-case submission that the 22-year-old star witness, simply identified as TKJ, was in a “love” relationship with him going by the series of chats between them and that the ICPC was desperate to create, search for any conceivable crime against his client.

At the resumed proceedings on Tuesday, ICPC’s counsel, Osuobeni Akponimisingha urged the court to dismiss the no-case submission, insisting through his written reply that TKJ was the person who sent pornographic and obscene pictures on the “prompting of the first defendant.”

He argued that the court has jurisdiction to preside over the matter because his case against the professor are being done under the purview of the Attorney-General of the Federation.

He added that as of the time of filing the charges against the first defendant, he was a dean of the faculty of law and had administrative control of the faculty.

“We have made out a case against the first defendant. We need to hear from the second defendant while he called the star witness(TKJ) not to honour ICPC invitation,” he said.

But Agi, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, adopted his no-case submission and reply to the complainant in urging Justice James Omotosho to discharge his clients.

He contended that if “the lawmakers intended to make adult pornography shared between two adults a crime, the statutes would have said so specifically without more”, adding that under the Child Rights Act, a 22-year-old woman like TKJ is not a child.

He submitted that in terms of jurisdiction, even if the AGF is prosecuting a matter, there are legal steps he must take.

“There is a difference between having the capacity to prosecute and fulfilling the condition precedent to prosecute,” he said, urging the court to decline jurisdiction on the case.

Agi then applied that the ₦250 million bail condition imposed on his client should be varied because he is unable to meet the conditions set by the judge.

THE WHISTLER recalls that Omotosho had granted the suspended dean bail on several conditions including that he must provide two sureties who would submit bail bond worth N250 million and must own properties within FCT with a minimum valuation of N150 million.

However, Agi said in open court that the remanded professor resides in Calabar and does not have anyone in Abuja to stand as surety.

The senior lawyer asked the judge to exercise his discretion in his favour by releasing the defendants to two Senior Advocates based on recognition, adding “we are not running away.”

“The two rulings(for no case submission and bail variation) are reserved for 6th day of March, 2024,” Omotosho said.