Sexual Assault: Abuja Court grants embattled UNICAL Dean N250Million bail
Ndifon was given two weeks' bail by Judge James Omotosho so he could take care of his health—he is supposedly in need of surgery.
Prof. Cyril Ndifon, suspended Dean of the University of Calabar, Faculty of Law, has been granted bail by the Federal High Court in Abuja.
Ndifon was given two weeks’ bail by Judge James Omotosho so he could take care of his health he is supposedly in need of surgery.
On the recognizance of his attorney Okon Efut (SAN), N250 million was granted as bail between January 10 and January 25.
The judge adjourned the hearing on the subject until January 26, one day after the bond was set to expire, and ordered the don to leave his travel documentation with the court.
Ndifon was placed under remand in the Nigerian Correctional Service’s Kuje Center by Judge Omotosho while his bail application was being processed.
Ndifon was charged in court on Monday by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offenses Commission (ICPC) on four counts of alleged sexual misconduct against some of his students.
As stated in a statement by the commission’s spokesman, Mrs. Azuka C. Ogugua, “The Professor of Law, however, pleaded not guilty when the charges were read to him.”
According to a report published by Platinum Times on Tuesday, the defendant’s attorney, Efut, requested that the defendant be given bail, as an application had been submitted on his behalf on January 2, 2024.
But Dr. Osuobeni Ekoi Akponimisingha, the ICPC’s attorney, objected to the bail request, claiming that Barrister Sunny Anyanwu, one of the defendant’s attorneys, had intimidated a prominent witness the ICPC had scheduled for the trial.
Barrister Anyanwu later told the court that it was the “witness” who had phoned him, reiterating his prior defense that the claimed witness’s name was not mentioned in the charges read.
However, Barrister Anyanwu was asked by Justice Omotosho to produce his affidavit of fact within 48 hours due to the accusation that he threatened an ICPC witness.
In addition, he decided that Ndifon, the defendant, shall remain under custody at the Kuje Correctional Center until Wednesday, January 10, 2024, in order to complete the hearing regarding his bail request.