On Wednesday, representatives from the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) converged at the Federal High Court in Abuja for the trial of Prof. Cyril Ndifon, the suspended Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Calabar (UNICAL).
Linda Bala led the NBA delegation into the courtroom, presided over by Justice James Omotosho. Meanwhile, Amina Agbaje, the Country Vice President of FIDA, headed a team of lawyers representing their associations as observers.
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) is prosecuting Ndifon and Sunny Anyanwu (1st and 2nd defendants) on charges related to sexual harassment and obstruction of investigation.
Anyanwu, a defense lawyer, was included in the amended charge filed on January 22 by the ICPC. The amendment alleged that he had threatened a prosecution witness by calling her on her mobile phone during the pendency of the charge against Ndifon.
Justice Omotosho had previously ordered the remand of both defendants in the Kuje Correctional Centre until the hearing of their bail applications.
During the resumed hearing, Wilberforce Otuagona, SAN, announced his appearance for Prof. Ndifon and Anyanwu. Solomon Umoh, SAN, their counsel on the last adjourned date, was also present in court.
Otuagona requested the court to consider the bail application before proceeding with the trial. However, the judge insisted that the order was to proceed with the trial before hearing the bail application. The judge emphasized that this decision aimed to protect the witness allegedly threatened by Anyanwu.
Justice Omotosho mentioned that he had overruled himself on the last adjourned date to prioritize the bail plea first, following a plea from Umoh, despite the initial court order. He noted his experience as a prosecutor for 18 years before joining the bench.
