The FCT High Court in Maitama, Abuja, has scheduled Thursday for a ruling on an application by senior lawyer Mike Ozekhome to travel to the United Kingdom for medical reasons. The decision came after the prosecution team agreed not to oppose the request during Tuesday's proceedings.
Prosecution Withheld Passports, Court Orders Production
Trial judge Chizoba Oji ordered the office of the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) to produce Mr Ozekhome's passport and that of his co-defendant, Ponfa Useni, after it emerged that the documents had not been deposited at the court's registry. The judge discovered that the prosecution had withheld the passports since February, when they were part of the bail conditions. Judge Oji directed that the prosecution should “unfailingly produce the two international passports to the court as directed.”
Background of the Case
On 27 February, the AGF's office arraigned Mr Ozekhome and Ponfa Useni on 12 counts of forgery and impersonation, stemming from a property ownership dispute in the United Kingdom. The judge granted each bail of N10 million with one surety each, and ordered that their passports be submitted to the court. The charges allege that the defendants conspired in 2020 with the late Jeremiah Useni, a retired general and former FCT Minister, to create a false Nigerian passport in the name Tali Shani. They are accused of presenting the forged passport to claim a property in North London.
Travel Application Hearing
During the hearing on the travel application, Mr Ozekhome's lawyer, Ferdinand Orbih, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), informed the court that his client needed his passport to travel to the UK for medical treatment. Mr Orbih said the trip was expected to last six weeks, based on a UK doctor's recommendation, and promised that the passport would be returned three days after Mr Ozekhome's return. Prosecution lawyer Aisha Tahir did not oppose the application.
When the judge asked about the passports' whereabouts, Ms Tahir said they were with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). The judge ordered them produced within an hour, but the prosecution returned two hours later without the passports. Ms Tahir cited difficulty reaching the investigation officer and requested an adjournment. Mr Orbih did not object, leading the judge to adjourn until Thursday for both the passport submission and the ruling.
London Tribunal Findings
Mr Ozekhome's prosecution in Nigeria follows a London tribunal judgment in September 2025 that blocked him from claiming a property in North London. The tribunal ruled that the house was secretly bought in 1993 by the late Jeremiah Useni using a false identity. It found that Mr Ozekhome's steps to claim the property were built on fraud, impersonation, and forged documents. The tribunal also uncovered fraudulent Nigerian identity records, including a passport, National Identification Number (NIN), and Tax Identification Number (TIN), allegedly generated with the help of corrupt officials at NIMC, the Immigration Service, and FIRS.
These developments led the Legal Practitioners' Privileges Committee to suspend Mr Ozekhome's SAN rank pending a disciplinary hearing.
Prosecution Witnesses Testify
Two prosecution witnesses have testified so far. In March, an NIS officer, Akim Aridegbe, testified that the Tali Shani passport was fake, sharing features of a genuine passport but with no record in the NIS database. Forensic examiner Bamaiyi Mairiga also testified that the passport was fake. During cross-examination on Monday, Mr Ozekhome's lawyer grilled Mr Mairiga on technical procedures, but the witness maintained his findings.
