Category: Judiciary

Flowerbudnews

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), on Wednesday, closed its case against Prof. Cyril Ndifon, the suspended Dean of the Faculty of Law, University of Calabar (UNICAL), and his co-defendant, Sunny Anyanwu.

ICPC’s counsel, Osuobeni Akponimisingha, told Justice James Omotosho of a Federal High Court, Abuja after Bwaigu Fungo, the 4th prosecution witness, a Forensic and intelligence Analyst with the commission, was cross-examined by the defence lawyer, Joe Agi, SAN.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Akponimisingha had earlier informed the court that the anti-corruption commission had about seven witnesses and also planned to amend the charge to increase the witness number in proving their case against the defendants.

Ndifon was, on Jan. 25, re-arraigned alongside Anyanwu as 1st and 2nd defendants on an amended four-count charge bordering on alleged sexual harassment and attempt to perverse the cause of justice.

Anyanwu, who is one of the lawyers in the defence, was joined in the amended charge filed on Jan. 22 by the ICPC on allegation that he called one of the prosecution witnesses on her mobile telephone during the pendency of the charge against Ndifon to threatened her.

They, however, pleaded not guilty to the counts.
Justice Omotosho had, on Friday, granted bail to Ndifon.and Anyanwu in the sum of N250 million and N50 million respectively with two sureties each in the like sum.
Upon resumed trial on Wednesday, Fungo’s cross-examination continued.
When Agi asked the forensic analyst if he knew what Ndifon and TKJ, the female Diploma student alleged to have been sexually harassed, discussed in the call log, he said he did not know.
When the lawyer asked the witness if he knew the first communication between Ndifon and TKJ, Fungo said from the analysis he carried out on the mobile phones, their first communication through the WhatsApp channel was on March 14, 2023 and the message was: “Good evening sir.”
The witness, who also said that he did not analyse TKJ’s phone in the course of the investigation, said he was not given TKJ’s phone by the ICPC to analyse.
After Fungo’s testimony, Akponimisingha told the court that the prosecution was closing its case.
“This is the case for the prosecution and we have closed our case today,” he said.
Responding, counsel to the defendants’, Agi, told the court that they planned to file a no-case submission.
He said he would need seven days to file the application.
The ICPC lawyer assured the court that immediately the defence served him with the no-case submission, he would also need about seven days to reply.
Justice Omotosho consequently adjourned the matter until Feb. 27 to hear the defendants’ no-case submission.
Meanwhile, Ndifon and Anyanwu were yet to perfect their bail described as being too stringent.
NAN report that Justice Omotosho had, on Feb. 9, admitted Ndifon to a N250 million bail with two sureties.
The judge held that the two sureties, who must be owners of landed property in the FCT with registered titles and minimum valuation of N150 million, must submit their certified bank statements to the registrar of the court.
He also directed Ndifon to submit his international passport to the court registrar.
The judge ordered the suspended dean to sign an undertaking not to interfere with the case, be ready to stand his trial and not to delay the trial.
Also ruling on Anyanwu’s bail plea, Justice Omotosho, who granted him a N50 million bail with two sureties, held that one of the sureties must have a property in FCT, but not with a registered title.
The judge directed the sureties to file their bank statements and ordered Anyanwu to equally signed an undertaking not to interfere with the trial, to be ready to stand his trial and not delay the trial.
Justice Omotosho also ordered accelerated hearing of the matter.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)/ Flowerbudnews

Flowerbudnews

A Nigerian, Mr Chianugo Peter, on Monday, disagreed with Google LLC, an American multinational technology company, over allegation that his 150 million dollars suit is frivolous and unmeritorious.

Peter, through his counsel, Emmanuel Ekpenyong Esq. of Fred-Young & Evans LP, told Justice Obiora Egwuatu of a Federal High Court, Abuja Division in his Reply to Google’s Statement of Defence.

It would be recalled that the company, in its Statement of Defence dated Nov. 9, 2023 and filed Nov. 10, 2023 by its lawyer, Mark Mordi, SAN, urged the court to dismiss Peter’s suit for being unmeritorious and unworthy.

Peter had sued GoDaddy.Com LLC and Google LLC as 1st and 2nd defendants over allegations bordering on the shutdown of his YouTubeAudio.com domain name after eight years of promotional and marketing works.

Google, in its defence, averred that Peter did not own the YOUTUBE trademark nor did he have a bona fide claim to use or register any mark that incorporates or is similar to the YOUTUBE trademark.

According to the company, the plaintiff was aware of his lack of bona fide claim because he approached it before he commenced operation “and acknowledged the 2nd defendant (Google)’s rights.

But in his response dated Feb. 7, 2024 but filed Feb. 8 2024, Peter argued that “though it is a common knowledge that Google owns the YouTube trademark, the plaintiff’s YouTubeAudio.com domain and business name is different and distinct from the YouTube trademark.”

According to him, the followers and users of YouTubeAudio.com know that it is different and distinct from YouTube and it is not calculated to deceive them.

He said the 1st and 2nd defendants, as well as the relevant regulatory authorities, acknowledged that his YouTubeAudio.com domain and business name is different and distinct from the YouTube trademark.

“The 1st defendant being a domain registrar who works hand in hand with the 2nd defendant, has been in the domain hosting business for more than 2 (two) decades and has a database of existing domain names and domain names likely to infringe existing domain names.

“Upon a compulsory search, the plaintiff lawfully purchased and acquired YouTubeAudio.com domain name from the 1st defendant without any caveat or objection that the domain name is similar or infringes the YouTube trademark or any of the 2nd defendant’s trademarks.

“The plaintiff approached the Corporate Affairs Commission (“CAC”) and upon conducting the compulsory search, reserved and registered YouTubeAudio.com as a business name for the plaintiff’s business without any caveat or objection that it is similar or infringes the YouTube trademark or any of the 2nd defendant’s trademarks.

“The plaintiff approached the Trademark, Patents and Designs Registry, Commercial Law Department, Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade And Investment, Abuja, Nigeria (“the Trademark Registry”) to register the YouTubeAudio.com trademark with logo No. 173554 in Class 16.

“And after the compulsory search, the Trademark Registry accepted the same for publication without any caveat that it is similar or infringes the YouTube trademark or any of the 2nd Defendant’s trademarks.

“The 2nd defendant only has exclusive right over its trademarks registered in Classes 9, 41, 38, 35, 42 as listed in Paragraphs 9.1 to 9.8 of its Statement of Defence.

“None of the 2nd defendant’s trademarks is registered in Class 16 where YouTubeAudio.com trademark and logo is accepted for registration before the Trademark Registry.

“In 2021, the plaintiff approached the 2nd defendant to hoist YouTubeAudio.com application as “YTAudio” and its website youtubeaudio.com on the 2nd defendant’s Google Playstore.

“And the 2nd defendant duly approved the name and the website and hoisted the same on its Google Playstore without any caveat or objection that it is similar or infringes the YouTube trademark or any of the 2nd defendant’s trademarks until 25th December 2023 when it unilaterally removed the plaintiff’s application on its Google Playstore in reaction to the plaintiff commencing this suit.

“Upon clicking the application on the 2nd defendant’s Google Playstore, users are seamlessly redirected to the website youtubeaudio.com which was duly approved by the 2nd defendant.

“The YouTubeAudio.com website functioned as the application’s engine room on the 2nd Defendant’s Google Playstore,” he said.

He said in 2021, Google also duly approved and registered YouTubeAudio.com on its Google AdSence program with publisher ID pub-4279408488674166 without any caveat or objection that YouTubeAudio.com infringed its YouTube trademark.

He said the 2nd defendant would not have registered the YouTubeAudio.com domain name on its Google AdSense and Google Playstore platforms in the first place if it infringed on its YouTube or other trademarks

Upon resumed hearing on Monday, Ekpenyong informed the court that a Reply had been filed on Feb 8 2024 in response to the Statement of Defence and that Google has been served.

The court, then, regularised the plaintiff’s Reply to Google’s Statement of Defence.

The lawyer equally informed the court of their intention to amend their Statement of Claim and Writ of Summons

Oluwaseyi Ogundiran Esq., who appeared for Google, responded that the plaintiff had just served on them the motion to amend their Writ of Summons and Statement of Claim on Friday last week.

She said the application was not ripe for hearing.

Justice Egwuatu subsequently adjourned the matter until April 18 for mention.

Recalled that GoDaddy.Com LLC, the 1st defendant, had neither been represented in court nor filed any application since the commencement of the case. (Flowerbudnews)

Flowerbudnews

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), on Monday, played nude videos of a female Diploma student of University of Calabar (UNICAL) in the open court in evidence against Prof. Cyril Ndifon, the institution’s suspended Dean of Faculty of Law.
The development occured when the ICPC’s lawyer, Osuobeni Akponimisingha, led Bwaigu Fungo, the 4rh prosecution witness (PW4), in evidence in the ongoing trial of Ndifon and his co-defendant, Sunny Anyanwu, before Justice James Omotosho of a Federal High Court, Abuja.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Ndifon was, on Jan. 25, re-arraigned alongside Anyanwu as 1st and 2nd defendants on an amended four-count charge bordering on alleged sexual harassment and attempt to perverse the cause of justice.

Anyanwu, who is one of the lawyers in the defence, was joined in the amended charge filed on Jan. 22 by the ICPC on allegation that he called one of the prosecution witnesses on her mobile telephone during the pendency of the charge against Ndifon to threatened her.

They were, however, admitted to bail on Friday after a female student, identified as TKJ (not real name) by the court, one of the alleged victims of sexual assault by the don, completed her testimony.

NAN earlier reported that the court had admitted in evidence two mobile phones seized by the anti-corruption commission from Ndifon.
Justice Omotosho admitted the mobile devices; an Oppo Phone and a Tecno Pova Phone with their chargers after they were tendered by Akponimisingha, and the application was not opposed by the defence counsel, Joe Agi, SAN.

The Oppo and Tecno Phones were marked Exhibits N and O by the court.

Meanwhile, Fungo, a Forensic and intelligence Analyst with ICPC, while giving his testimony analysed three nude videos obtained from Ndifon’s Oppo Phone.

The PW4 said the videos were extracted from Exhibit N belonging to the professor.
He said they were videos of TKJ as requested by Ndifon.

“The videos as sent by TKJ to the Exhibit N (Oppo Phone owned by Ndifon) is usually sent by the 1st defendant to another subscriber (another phone number),” the witness said.
He said though about 16 videos were extracted, three were TKJ’s videos.

He said TKJ did the videos on Sept. 26, 2023.
The forensic analyst also played three of the videos of other female students but the judge directed him to limit it to videos relevant to the charge, which were TKJ’s.

When asked why Ndifon would have forwarded the videos sent to him by TKJ to another phone number, Fungo it was to preserve the video for whatever reason.

Akponimisingha also requested for Exhibit 0 (Tecno Phone) and the witness was asked questions on some of the extractions.

While being cross examined, Agi asked Fungo if from the videos he played, TKJ did it involuntarily.

The witness said: “The acts of TKJ were involuntarily done.”

He added that from their forensic report, there was a part in the videos where TKJ said she was not comfortable sending the videos.

When Agi asked him if in one of the videos, TKJ displayed a movement and was fidgeting to prove that the young lady did the videos without compulsion, Fungo simply said: “There was movement,”

Meanwhile, Justice Omotosho had ordered the management of the Kuje Correctional Centre to allow Anyanwu access a medical facility of his choice with a view to treating himself.
The judge gave the order after Agi moved the application to the effect.

Justice Omotosho adjourned the matter until Feb. 14 for trial continuation.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)/ Flowerbudnews

Flowerbudnews

TKJ (not real name), the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC)’s star witness, on Wednesday, admitted she did not include in her two statements to the commission the allegations that Prof. Cyril Ndifon forced her to give him “a blow job” in his car because she was ashamed about the incident.

TKJ, who is the ICPC’s 2nd prosecution witness (PW2), stated this while being cross-examined by Ndifon’s counsel, Joe Agi, SAN, before Justice James Omotosho of a Federal High Court, Abuja.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that during the ICPC’s investigation, TKJ, one of the alleged victims of allegation of sexual harassment against Ndifon, the suspended Dean of Faculty of Law, University of Calabar (UNICAL), wrote two extra-judicial statements dated Nov 9, 2023 and Nov. 10, 2023 at the Calabar office of the anti-corruption commission.

Blow job, according to a dictionary meaning, is an act of oral sex performed on a man.
NAN had, on Tuesday, reported that the witness, while giving her evidence-in-chief, alleged that the suspended dean came to the front of her hostel in a tinted glass car and asked her to joined him.

She alleged that while having a discussion with him, he tried to put his hand inside her trousers but she stopped him from doing that..

She further alleged that Ndifon later brought out his manhood and forcefully put it in her mouth.to suck.

NAN reports that Ndifon was, on Jan. 25, re-arraigned alongside Sunny Anyanwu as 1st and 2nd defendants on an amended four-count charge bordering on alleged sexual harassment and attempt to perverse the cause of justice.

Anyanwu, who is one of the lawyers in the defence, was joined in the amended charge filed on Jan. 22 by the ICPC on allegation that he called TKJ on her mobile telephone during the pendency of the charge against Ndifon to threatened her.

However, during cross-examination on Wednesday, Agi asked TKJ: “You told this court that the 1st defendant forced you to do a blow job?”

“Yes, in his car. He bent my neck and gave me N3000 after for treatment,” she responded.
“I put it to you that, that is not true,” the lawyer said, but TKJ insisted it was true.

Agi also put the question to TKJ that the allegation that Ndifon tried to make her do blow job with him in his office was also untrue but she said it was true.

The senior lawyer then asked her if she made statements to ICPC on those two occasions and she answered in affirmative.
“In those two different days, you never told ICPC in your statements that the 1st defendant did blow job with you; you just manufactured that later?” he asked.
Responding, TKJ said: “I did not tell them in my statements because I was ashamed about it.”
She had also told the court that when Ndifon forcefully bent her neck to give him a blow job, she cried and went and told her roommates in the hostel.
But when the lawyer asked her if she put the experience about informing her roommates in the statements, the witness admitted she did not.
She equally admitted that she did not put it in her statement that Ndifon gave her N3000 for treatment after the blow job experience.
TKJ said she only gave summary of what transpired between Ndifon and her, besides feeling ashamed of the whole scenario.
When Agi asked her how many people were with her when she was making the statements, the PW2 said about three people.
Reacting, the lawyer said it couldn’t have been shame that made her not to write details of her experience since there were more people in the courtroom than where she wrote the statements, “that you just don’t want to tell the true.”
But TKJ, who insisted it was shame, broke into tears behind the shield.
Agi further asked her if she wrote in her statements the allegation that Ndifon made her to do a nude video of herself putting her two fingers in her vargina inside toilet and sent to him.
“I did not tell the ICPC about the nude video I did inside the toilet where I put my two fingers in my vargina because I only did a summary of it in my statement,” she said.
The witness said she did all the chats and others with Ndifon because of the admission he promised her and because of her safety after the sexual harassment.
She disagreed with the lawyer that the anti-corruption commission guided her on what to write.
“The ICPC Did not guide me on what to write,” she said.
Taking TKJ on one of the exhibits which captured some of the WhatsApp chats with Ndifon, the lawyer asked that those communications which were between her and the embattled professor were supposed to be a secret between them, but the witness said she did not willingly do it
“Did he put a gun on your head?” he asked, but she said Ndifon did not put a gun on her head.
“Would you have been happy if 1st defendant had sent those messages and videos to people? Agi asked again.
“I will not be happy if he had shared it with people because I was not happy sending them,” she responded.
Earlier while being led in evidence by ICPC’s lawyer, Osuobeni Akponimisingha, TKJ said she received a strange call from Mr Sunny Anyanwu, one of Ndifon’s lawyers, after the suspended don was granted bail.
“A strange number called me and when I picked, the person called me by my native name.
“He told me his name was Barrister Sunny. And he said that Prof told him that I am from Enugu State.
“I told him I am not from Enugu State. He asked me where I am from and ai told him.
“I asked him why he called he said he called because of Professor Cyril, his friend.
“He said he is from Enugu State. He also said he blamed his friend for everything that had happened. He said they have been friends for long
“I told him that I have been traumatised a lot he said he knew” she said.
The witness told the court that Anyanwu told her on phone not to honour ICPC’s invitation or write anything if they asked her to.
“He said if I do what he asked me to do, he would give me a better admission outside University of Calabar,” she added
She said she had neither met nor seen Anyanwu before.
Meanwhile, Justice Omotosho had adjourned until Feb 9 to rule on the bail applications of Ndifon and Anyanwu.
The judge, who adjourned the matter after counsel for the defence and prosecution adopted their processes and presented their arguments for and against the bail plea, hinted that he was inclined to grant bail to the duo.
He said since bail was a constitutional right and the offences for which they were being charged were bailable ones, the defendants might likely be admitted to bail since the star witness who was alleged to have been threatened on phone had concluded her testimony.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng) / Flowerbudnews

Flowerbudnews

A Federal High Court, Abuja has adjourned the trial of Ali Bello and his co-defendant, Dauda Suleiman, until Tuesday for continuation of hearing in a charge filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Justice James Omotosho adjourned the matter after Edward Bannada, the 2nd prosecution witness of EFCC, was cross-examined and re-examined by counsel for the defence and prosecution.

While A.M. Aliyu, SAN, appeared for Bello, the 1st defendant, Nureini Jimoh, SAN, represented Suleiman, the 2nd defendant in the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/550/2022.

While being cross-examined by Jimoh with respect to the evidence he tendered (statements of accounts), Bannada, an official of the United Bank for Africa (UBA), said he could not remember seeing the names of the two defendants as beneficiaries who made withdrawals from the bank statements tendered.
He, however, confirmed that Abdulsalam Hudu made most of the withdrawals from the account statements.
The Witness also stated that he played no role in the entries contained in the statements of account and only became a witness in the matter due to EFCC’s invitation.
Bannada also confirmed that the cash transactions of the Kogi State Government and the Kogi State Government House Administration, as seen in the statements of account, were majorly inflow of security funds and the cash withdrawal of the inflow, which did not contravene the Cash Withdrawal Policy of the CBN, the bank or any law.

He also confirmed that the withdrawal by Hudu did not exceed the limit of the security fund lodgement.

When the anti-corruption agency’s lawyer, Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, attempted to re-examine the witness on the issue of the absence of the name of Ali Bello and Dauda Suleiman on the statements of account and the operation of a computer, tte court overruled him.

The matter was consequently adjourned until Feb. 6 for trial continuation.

EFCC had, on Dec. 15, 2022, arraigned Bello, identified as a nephew of former Gov. Yahaya Bello of Kogi, and Suleiman on a 10-count charge of alleged misappropriation and money laundering.

The anti-graft body claimed the duo, alongside Hudu, a cashier at the Kogi State House who is at large, withdrew N10.2 billion from the state’s treasury for personal use.

Flowerbudnews

Mr Kenneth Ibe-Kalu, a businessman has instituted a N5 trillion suit against the Minister of Works and Housing alleging copyright infringement.

In the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1047/2022 before Justice Bolaji Olajuwon, Ibe-Kalu  sought 22 reliefs.

The case filed during President Muhammadu Buhari-led government, alleged that Mr Babatunde Fashola, who was the presiding minister and Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) were “liable for the tort of conversion” by dealing with Ibe-Kalu’s idea and concept as though the idea and concept belonged to them.

In the writ of summons dated July 13, 2022, and filed Dec. 13, Hugiano Embold Solutions Ltd and Ibe-Kalu, the 1st and 2nd plaintiffs, sued the Minister of Works, Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister if Justice and ICRC as 1st to 3rd defendants.

Also joined in the suit are Minister of Information and Culture, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), National Planning Commission (NPC), KPMG Advisory Services, KPMG Professional Services as 4th to 8th defendants.

Others are Incorporated Trustees of Pan Atlantic University Foundation (Lagos Business School) and United Kingdom Secretary of State for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (United Kingdom Nigeria Infrastructural Advisory Facility Programme) as 9th to 10th defendants respectively.

Ibe-Kalu, the Managing Director of the 1st plaintiff, in the amended statement of claims, averred that he was the one, who conceptualised the idea of National Transformation Tourists Centers (NTTC).
He said he was moved by patriotic zeal and personally undertook extensive research and study into infrastructure driven economic development of Nigeria to eddress the huge infrastructure deficit and promote development in the process.

According to him, the NTTC idea is a development initiative to boost even development across the country, to secure safety on the highways, to encourage tourism as well as to tackle the security challenges bedeviling the nation.
He said as conceived, 15 per cent of the accruable revenue from the management of the concept would go to the state governments while five per cent accruable revenue would go to the Federal Government.
He said In a letter dated March 15, 2016, he wrote to former President Buhari and the concept was approved on a Private Public Partnership (PPP) arrangement.
He said after an input by the then Information minister, the NTTC concept was assigned to Works minister to partner with him to actualise the project on April 7, 2017.
He alleged that Fashola and ICRC infringed on his right by adapting his idea as theirs and renamed it as Highway Development and Management Initiative (HDMI) against Buhari’s directive.

According to him, Fashola and ICRC contacted KPMG Advisory Services and KPMG Professional Services (7th and 8th defendants), an accounting firm, to estimate the cost of execution of NTTC concept renamed as HDMI.
Ibe-Kalu averred that 12 routes were approved by ICRC estimated to cost N1.34 trillion.

“The plaintiffs aver that the probable cost of execution of the 340 NTTC is estimated to be around the figure of N50 trillion only,” he added.

He said after bidding by contractors, the minister of works is now partnering with 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th defendants to actualise the HDMI.

He said he wrote letters to all the defendants to notify them of alleged right breach.

Ibe-Kalu, therefore, sought an order directing the defendants jointly and severally to continue with the plaintiffs with respect to the commencement, the execution and the completion of project on PPP arrangement.
He sought an order of perpetual injunction restraining the defendants from interfering with his copyright.

He also sought an order of conversion deeming the him as the author and owner of the alleged minister of works’ HDMI which was an adaptation of his NTTC.

He equally sought an order directing the works minister and ICRC jointly and severally to render to him account of all monies received by them on the basis of HDMI, alleged to be an adaptation of NTTC idea.

Ibe-Kalu further prayed for an order directing the works minister and ICRC to pay him the sum of N5 trillion as exemplary damages for breach of copyright, contract and conversion of his concept, among other relief

While being led in evidence-in-chief by his lawyer, John Oseji, before Justice Olajuwon, Ibe-Kalu identified all the documents tendered in evidence and were admitted as exhibits.
The judge adjourned the matter until May 2 for cross examination of Ibe-Kalu, the prosecution witness