Isaac Samiel
The High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), sitting in Maitama, Abuja, has fixed Thursday to rule on an application by senior lawyer, Mike Ozekhome (SAN), seeking permission to travel to the United Kingdom for medical treatment.
The court fixed the date after the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), which is prosecuting the case, indicated that it would not oppose the application.
Justice Chizoba Oji also directed the prosecution to produce the international passports of Ozekhome and his co-defendant, Ponfa Useni, after it emerged that the passports had not been deposited with the court as earlier ordered.
The development followed the discovery that despite the bail conditions imposed in February requiring the defendants to surrender their passports to the court, the documents had remained in the custody of the prosecution.
The judge consequently ordered the prosecution to “unfailingly produce the two international passports to the court as directed.”
During Tuesday’s proceedings, counsel to Ozekhome, Ferdinand Orbih (SAN), informed the court that his client needed temporary access to his passport to enable him travel to the United Kingdom for medical attention.
Orbih told the court that medical specialists in the UK had recommended treatment, adding that the proposed trip would last six weeks.
He assured the court that Ozekhome would return the passport within three days of his return to Nigeria.
Responding, prosecuting counsel, Aisha Tahir, said the prosecution had no objection to the application.
However, when Justice Oji sought clarification on the whereabouts of the defendants’ passports, Tahir informed the court that they were in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The judge directed that the passports be produced within one hour.
The prosecution, however, returned to court nearly two hours later without the documents.
Tahir explained that efforts to reach the investigating officer responsible for the passports had proved unsuccessful and requested an adjournment to enable the prosecution produce the documents.
Orbih did not oppose the request.
Following the submissions, the court adjourned the matter until Thursday for the production of the passports and ruling on Ozekhome’s application to travel.
Background
Ozekhome and Ponfa Useni are standing trial on a 12-count charge bordering on forgery, impersonation and the alleged use of false documents in connection with the ownership of a property in London.
Ponfa Useni is the son of the late former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Jeremiah Useni.
The prosecution alleged that the late Useni secretly acquired the London property in 1993 under the fictitious identity of “Tali Shani” and that subsequent attempts to transfer ownership of the property to Ozekhome were supported with forged identity documents.
According to the charges, Ozekhome and Ponfa Useni allegedly conspired in 2020 with the late former minister to produce a fake Nigerian passport bearing the name Tali Shani and passport number A07535463.
The prosecution further alleged that the passport was used to support ownership claims over the property in the United Kingdom.
The defendants are also accused of using forged documents, including an alleged irrevocable power of attorney, to facilitate the transfer of the property to Ozekhome.
They have pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
At the commencement of the trial on February 27, the court admitted both defendants to bail in the sum of N10 million each with one surety apiece.
As part of the bail conditions, Justice Oji ordered that both defendants surrender their international passports to the court pending the determination of the case.
The trial has since featured testimonies from two prosecution witnesses.
A Principal Staff Officer to the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Immigration Service, Akim Aridegbe, testified that the passport bearing the name Tali Shani was not issued by the Immigration Service and had no record in its database despite resembling a genuine passport.
A forensic document examiner, Bamaiyi Mairiga, also told the court that his examination confirmed the passport was fake.
During cross-examination on Monday, defence counsel questioned the forensic expert extensively on the procedures adopted during the investigation, but the witness maintained that his findings established that the passport was not genuine.
The case continues on Thursday with the court expected to determine Ozekhome’s request to travel abroad for medical treatment and receive the defendants’ passports from the prosecution.
