The Federal High Court in Abuja has granted permission to Cyril Ndifon, the suspended Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Calabar (UNICAL), on Tuesday, March 12, to appeal against the court’s decision rejecting his no-case submission in the ongoing trial against him.
The Judge, James Omotosho also authorized Ndifon’s lawyer, Sunny Anyanwu, to proceed with filing an appeal against the dismissal of the no-case submission.
This decision comes following a motion presented by Ndifon and Anyanwu’s counsel, Joe Agi, SAN, which went unopposed by the lawyer representing the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Osuobeni Akponimisingha.
Earlier, on Wednesday, March 6, the judge had dismissed the no-case submission put forth by Ndifon and Anyanwu, stating that the evidence presented by the prosecution established a prima facie case against them.
Consequently, Justice Omotosho ordered the defendants to commence their defense in response to the charges filed against them.
During the recent court session, Akponimisingha informed the court of the readiness to proceed with the defendants opening their defense.
However, Agi highlighted two motions filed on behalf of the defendants. One motion sought permission to appeal the court’s ruling on their no-case submission, while the other motion requested the release of exhibits N and O (Oppo and Tecno Phones) to the defendants.
Akponimisingha expressed readiness to oppose the motion seeking the release of Ndifon’s two phones to the National Forensic Laboratory, stating that he was only made aware of the motions on Monday.
Meanwhile, Justice Omotosho granted the motion for leave to appeal his ruling and adjourned the matter until March 19 for the hearing of all pending motions.
It may be recalled that on On Monday, February 19, Ndifon and Anyanwu had filed a no-case submission after the ICPC closed its case against them.
They argued that there was insufficient evidence presented by the prosecution to convict them and insisted that a prima facie case had not been established.
However, the ICPC opposed their submission, filing a counter affidavit on February 23, urging the court to dismiss the defendants’ no-case submission.
