Isaac Samuel
An FCT High Court sitting in Maitama, Abuja, on Thursday granted Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Mike Ozekhome, permission to travel to the United Kingdom for a six-week medical trip.
Trial judge, Justice Chizoba Oji, ordered Ozekhome to return his international passport to the court on or before August 26, 2026.
The court also adjourned proceedings in the alleged forgery and impersonation case against Ozekhome and his co-defendant, Ponfa Useni, until September 28.
Ozekhome and Useni were arraigned on February 27 by the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) on a 12-count charge bordering on alleged forgery and impersonation arising from a disputed ownership of a property in the United Kingdom.
The defendants had earlier been granted bail in the sum of N10 million each with one surety and were ordered to deposit their international passports with the court.
At the resumed hearing, the prosecution produced the passports after the court had earlier expressed concern that they had not been deposited as required by the bail conditions.
After confirming ownership of the passports, the prosecution, represented by C.L. Asonta, informed the court it had no objection to Ozekhome’s application to travel but urged the court to direct him to return the passport within three working days of his return to Nigeria.
Ruling on the application, Justice Oji approved the temporary release of Ozekhome’s passport, holding that the application was unopposed.
The judge ruled that the approved six-week trip would run from July 9 to August 20, after which Ozekhome must return the passport to the court before the next hearing.
The charges against the defendants stem from allegations that forged documents, including a Nigerian passport bearing the name “Tali Shani,” were used in an attempt to establish ownership of a London property.
According to the prosecution, the defendants allegedly conspired with the late former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Jeremiah Useni, to create false identity documents to support the property claim.
The prosecution alleged that Ozekhome assisted in the preparation of forged documents, including an irrevocable power of attorney, to facilitate the transfer of the property.
However, both defendants have pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
The prosecution has so far called two witnesses, including a Nigerian Immigration Service officer and a forensic document examiner, both of whom testified that the passport allegedly used in the transaction was not issued by the Nigerian Immigration Service and was found to be fake following forensic examination.
