The presentation of two mobile phones seized by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) containing nude videos and photographs of Professor Ndifon sparked some mild drama at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
It was gathered that the phones were confiscated from Cyril Ndifon, a former Law Faculty Dean at the University of Calabar (UNICAL), and were admitted into evidence on Monday.
However, the ICPC had earlier investigated the professor’s alleged egregious misbehavior and arrested him on October 4.
It charged the senior lecturer with four counts including sexual harassment, official corruption, and misuse of office.
On January 25, Ndifon was re-arraigned as the first and second defendants on an amended four-count charge of “alleged sexual harassment” and “attempt to pervert the course of justice”.
On February 9, both defendants were granted bail pending trial.
During court proceedings on Monday, Justice James Omotosho, the presiding judge, allowed two mobile devices belonging to Ndifon as evidence. They include an Oppo phone and a Tecno Pova phone, both confiscated by ICPC agents.
Osuobeni Akponimisingha, the ICPC lawyer, handed the phones without objection from Joe Agi, the defense counsel.
At the restarted trial, Akponimisingha presented the exhibits to the court and announced the appearance of two witnesses.
Tani Karngong, the third prosecution witness and exhibit keeper with the ICPC, stated that he received and secured the phones seized from the suspect.
Karngong said besides keeping exhibits, he documents and assigns them to a team for forensic analysis.
He said: “I am the only one who has access to the exhibit room and I have hand gloves that I wear so that there will be no contamination.”
On October 9, 2023, the witness stated that their investigators delivered the two phones to them along with pouches containing two documents related to the phones.
After the phones were turned in, Omotosho signed the document presented by the witness. The defense lawyer cross-examined Karngong before releasing him from the witness box.
B.E. Fungo, the fourth prosecution witness and a forensic and intelligence analyst with ICPC, testified that he was in charge of extracting, processing, and reporting forensic analysis results.
He stated that investigators turned over the suspended dean’s mobile devices to the commission’s forensic division.
Fungo stated that the contents of the phones were analyzed after an extraction and report were generated.
The witness stated that the extractions from the phones, which were all kept on a USB drive, comprised naked videos, photographs, and text messages.
Akponimisingha presented the USB and the certificate of compliance as evidence to support the prosecution’s case.
