A subdued scene unfolded at a Federal High Court in Abuja on Friday as Justice James Omotosho postponed the hearing of a bail application for Prof. Cyril Ndifon, the suspended Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Calabar.
The adjournment, set for January 31, arose from the objection raised by the prosecution counsel, Osuobeni Akponimisingha, who claimed to have just received Ndifon’s further affidavit and needed time to review it for fair hearing considerations.
The turn of events elicited dissatisfaction from Solomon Umoh, SAN, representing Ndifon, and Sunny Anyanwu, the co-defendant. The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) is prosecuting Ndifon and Anyanwu on charges related to sexual harassment and threats against a key witness in the case.
Anyanwu, also a defense attorney, was recently included in an amended charge by the ICPC on the allegation that he made threatening phone calls to a prosecution witness during the ongoing case against Ndifon.
Following Justice Omotosho’s directive on Thursday, the two defendants were remanded in Kuje Correctional Centre until the hearing of their bail applications. The judge had scheduled the bail request for consideration after the trial.
When the court reconvened on Friday, Umoh requested that the bail applications be heard before the trial, but Akponimisingha opposed this, citing the court’s previous directive to proceed with the trial first. The ICPC lawyer further stated that he had just received the latest application filed by Umoh on Thursday and needed time to review it.
Umoh countered by asserting that Akponimisingha was aware of the attached medical report and that the application was merely supplementary. He highlighted that the documents had been verified by the ICPC in Exhibit PF3.
