Alleged Sexual Harassment: Forensic Analyst Testifies in Ndifon’s Trial, Says Phone Was Empty During Analysis

 A forensic analyst, Babagana Musa Mingali, on Thursday told Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Abuja that the mobile phone belonging to the suspended Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Calabar, Prof. Cyril Ndifon, was empty when he analyzed it.  

Babagana, a Chief Superintendent of Police working in the office of the National Security Adviser (NSA), was subpoenaed as the second defense witness (DW2) in the case between Prof. Ndifon and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).  

Ndifon, alongside his lawyer, Samuel Anyanwu, is standing trial on four counts of alleged sexual harassment, cybercrime, and attempt to pervert the course of justice. The ICPC alleges that Ndifon, while serving as Dean, asked a female diploma student identified as TKJ to send him “pornographic, indecent, and obscene photographs of herself” through WhatsApp chats. Anyanwu was joined in the amended charge filed on January 22, 2024, for allegedly threatening a prosecution witness during the pendency of the case. Both defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges.  

Led in evidence by defense counsel Joe Agi, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Babagana told the court that he joined the Nigerian Police Force in 2010 and was posted to the NSA’s office in 2017. He stated that he received a court letter dated July 5, 2024, accompanied by two mobile phones belonging to Ndifon and Anyanwu, ordering a forensic analysis of the devices.  

Babagana said he conducted the analysis at the NSA lab and submitted a report dated August 8, 2024, which was admitted as an exhibit by Justice Omotosho. He explained that his office used professional tools, including the Universal Forensic Extraction Device, Touch Tool, and accompanying cables, to extract data from the phones but found no relevant information.  

“My lord, we used the Universal Forensic Extraction Device, a Touch Tool, and some accompanied cables, including external storage devices, in trying to extract the data,” he said. When asked if he found any naked photographs, email trails, voice recordings, text messages, or conversations, Babagana replied, “I did not find any.”  

He noted that the WhatsApp applications on the phones were out of date and suggested that the devices needed to be updated to achieve the desired results. Babagana also mentioned that staff from other agencies, including the ICPC, were posted to the NSA lab, though he could not provide evidence of their posting letters.  

During cross-examination by ICPC counsel Osuobeni Akponimisingha, Babagana admitted that the same tools used by his office were also used by the ICPC to generate Exhibit H, which contained images from Ndifon’s phone. He acknowledged that other forensic labs, including those of the Nigerian Police and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), could perform similar analyses.  

Justice Omotosho adjourned the case until April 3 for the continuation of the defense.