By Correspondent in Abuja.
The scheduled adoption of final written addresses in the ongoing trial of suspended University of Calabar (UNICAL) law professor, Cyril Ndifon, was on Wednesday stalled at the Federal High Court, Abuja, due to the defence’s failure to file and serve its address.
The matter, which was slated for hearing before Justice James Omotosho, could not proceed as the counsel to Ndifon, Oladimeji Ekengba, had yet to serve the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) with the defence’s final written address.
Upon the commencement of proceedings, ICPC’s counsel, Osuobeni Akponimisingha, informed the court that the defence had not served them the necessary documents to enable the commission respond appropriately.
“My Lord, we were expecting to receive the written address from the defence since the last adjourned date, but up till this morning, we have not been served. I seek your Lordship’s guidance,” Akponimisingha said.
Ekengba, who apologized on behalf of both Ndifon and the second defendant, Sunny Anyanwu, cited ill health as the reason for the delay.
He then sought an adjournment to enable the defence file and serve their final address and ICPC counsel did not oppose the application.
Justice Omotosho subsequently adjourned the matter to October 13, 2025, for the adoption of final written addresses by both parties.
Ndifon, the suspended Dean of the Faculty of Law at UNICAL, is standing trial alongside Anyanwu, a former member of his legal team, on a four-count amended charge bordering on alleged sexual harassment, cybercrime, and an attempt to pervert the course of justice.
The ICPC alleged that Prof. Ndifon, while serving as Dean, solicited pornographic images from a female diploma student identified as TKJ via WhatsApp messages.
Anyanwu was joined in the amended charge filed on January 22, 2024, for allegedly threatening the same student, who is also the prosecution’s star witness,via a phone call during the pendency of the case.
Both defendants have pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Our correspondent recalls that Justice Omotosho had earlier, on March 6, 2024, dismissed a no-case submission filed by the defendants, ruling that the prosecution had established a prima facie case against them and ordering them to open their defence.
Ndifon closed his defence after testifying as the first defence witness (DW1), followed by CSP Babagana Mingali, a forensic analyst from the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), who testified as DW2.
The ICPC closed its case on February 14, 2024, after calling four witnesses, including Bwaigu Fungo, a forensic and intelligence analyst with the commission.
Edited by Dada Ahmed.
