Luci Ogechi, the investigator from the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), has testified before the federal high court in Abuja on the sexual harassment allegation against Cyril Ndifon, the suspended University of Calabar (UNICAL) professor.
Ndifon was suspended as dean of the law faculty in August for allegedly sexually harassing some female students.
Following protests and a public outcry among the student community at the institution, an investigative panel was set up to probe claims of sexual harassment levelled against him.
The panel found the professor, who has since been replaced, guilty of sexual harassment and abuse of office.
Last October, the ICPC filed criminal charges against Ndifon.
During the trial on Wednesday, Chima, the ICPC investigator who appeared as witness one, told the court that the forensic analysis done on Ndifon’s phone showed that there were several nude pictures from many contacts.
According to NAN, Chima, who was led in evidence by Osuobeni Akponimisingha, the commission’s prosecuting lawyer, claimed that a diploma student of the university sent pornographic photographs of herself to him through his mobile telephone at different times.
James Omotosho, the trial judge, earlier warned journalists against publishing the name or photograph of the star witness — the student simply called TKJ — who was alleged to have been threatened.
Chima, who was speaking on behalf of TKJ, told the court that Ndifon allegedly asked the victim to share her nude photos as a condition for admission to the diploma class, and also for her transition to the LLB Class”.
She said when Nidfon was approached about the finding, he declined to comment on the allegation.
“We saw so many nude photos of so many contacts, including the contact of TKJ,” the investigator told the judge.
“TJK was of particular interest to the investigation because TJK’s case is a case we observed that nude pictures were requested by the 1st defendant as currency for admission for the diploma class, transiting to the LLB Class.
“We sought to confront the 1st defendant with our findings and he refused to give his statement.
“We left him and decided to go on a fact-finding mission to Calabar where we interacted with a student with the aid of a lecturer who identified him for the team.”
“The victim witness told us that she received a strange call from a lawyer and friend of the 1st defendant who told her not to honour the invitation of the ICPC. We confronted him and he denied it,” Chima said.
“He also made a statement denying he called the victim witness.
“But a forensic report on the call log and other information from the network provider showed the contrary. He actually called the victim witness.
“Being a suspect in the matter we retrieve his phone from him. He signed a consent form for the retrieval of his phone.
“The forensic unit and response from the service provider revealed that the 2nd defendant’s call to our witness known as TKJ was for 679 seconds.
“It also revealed that TKJ’s number was forwarded by the 1st defendant to the 2nd defendant.”
She told the court that while the phones of the first and second defendants were with the commission, Ndifon approached his service providers for a SIM swap, claiming his phone was missing.
She alleged that Mr Ndifon did that to tamper with the commission’s investigation.
The PW1 also informed the court that while the allegation of sexual harassment had been concluded, that of financial misappropriation was ongoing.
“My lord, we have an investigation ongoing against him on the financial impropriety allegation while we have concluded that on sexual harassment,” she said.
Documents used during her investigation were tendered by the prosecution counsel and they were admitted as evidence by the trial judge.
Ndifon was, on January 25, re-arraigned alongside his co-defendant, Sunny Anyanwu, on an amended four-count charge bordering on alleged sexual harassment and an attempt to perverse the cause of justice.
Omotosho declined to hear the bail applications filed by the pair.
The judge subsequently adjourned the matter for the continuation of trial.
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