The FCT High Court in Maitama, Abuja, on Thursday granted senior lawyer Mike Ozekhome permission to travel to the United Kingdom for a medical trip lasting six weeks. Trial judge Chizoba Oji ruled that Ozekhome must return his passport to the court on or before 26 August 2026. The judge also adjourned Ozekhome's forgery and impersonation trial until 28 September.
Background of the case
On 27 February, the office of the Attorney General of the Federation arraigned Ozekhome and his co-defendant, Ponfa Useni, on 12 counts of forgery and impersonation. The charges stem from a contentious battle over property ownership in the United Kingdom. The judge granted each defendant bail in the sum of N10 million, with one surety each, and ordered that their international passports be submitted to the court.
On Tuesday, it came to the judge's knowledge that the prosecution, representing the office of the AGF, had withheld and failed to deposit the defendants' passports as part of the bail conditions. This prompted the judge to order the prosecution to present the passports in court unfailingly on Thursday. The prosecution complied, producing the passports. After the defendants confirmed the passports belonged to them, the judge asked prosecution lawyer C.L. Asonta to confirm if there was any objection. Asonta stated there was no objection but requested a condition: that Ozekhome submit his passport within three working days upon his return.
Thereafter, the judge ruled: 'Having considered the motion and no objection, I hereby grant the request and temporary release of the first defendant's international passport to enable him to go for his medical trip.' The judge ordered that Ozekhome's six-week request starts from 9 July and ends on 20 August.
The charges against Ozekhome and Useni
Ozekhome and Useni are facing 12 counts of impersonation and forgery. Ponfa Useni is the son of the late Jeremiah Useni, who served as Minister of the Federal Capital Territory during the regime of former military dictator Sani Abacha. The older Useni, who died in January 2025, owned the London property in question under the fictitious name Tali Shani. His purported attempt to transfer ownership to Ozekhome allegedly led to the presentation of documents that a London property tribunal found to be forged.
In the eight charges filed regarding the property battle, Nigerian authorities accused Ozekhome and Ponfa Useni of conspiring in 2020 alongside the late Jeremiah Useni to make a false Nigerian passport with number A07535463 and name Tali Shani. They allegedly presented the forged passport, purportedly issued by the Nigerian Immigration Service, to claim a property in the United Kingdom. The prosecution also charged them with using a false passport to facilitate the claim. Additionally, the prosecution alleged that Ozekhome helped Ponfa Useni to impersonate Tali Shani in 2020 and created a fake 'Irrevocable Power of Attorney' to help Ozekhome claim the property. Both defendants have denied all charges.
London tribunal findings
Ozekhome's prosecution in Nigeria stems from a London tribunal's judgement that blocked him from claiming a property in North London in September 2025. In August 2021, Ozekhome sought to transfer the property to his name, claiming it was a gift from a man who presented himself as Tali Shani in appreciation for legal services. This was challenged in September 2022 by Westfields Solicitors, claiming to represent 'Ms Tali Shani,' who insisted she was the registered owner of the property since 1993 and had never signed any transfer.
Ruling on the dispute, Judge Paton of the UK Tribunal ruled that the house was secretly bought in 1993 by the late Jeremiah Useni, former Nigerian Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, using a false identity. According to the tribunal, Ozekhome's steps to claim the property were built on a network of fraud, impersonation, and forged documents. However, it concluded that the late Useni was the genuine purchaser of the property in 1993. The London tribunal also uncovered fraudulent Nigerian identity records, including a passport, a National Identification Number, and a Tax Identification Number allegedly generated with the connivance of corrupt officials at the National Identity Management Commission, the Immigration Service, and the Federal Inland Revenue Service. These developments prompted the Legal Practitioners' Privileges Committee to suspend Ozekhome's SAN rank pending a disciplinary hearing.
Prosecution witnesses
Two prosecution witnesses have testified so far in the trial before the FCT High Court. In March, the first prosecution witness, a Nigerian Immigration Service officer, testified that the passport with the name Tali Shani was fake. Akim Aridegbe, a principal staff officer to the Comptroller-General of the NIS, said the passport was not issued by the NIS. Despite sharing features of a genuine copy, it had no record in the NIS database. Similarly, the second witness, Bamaiyi Mairiga, a forensic examiner, testified that the passport was fake. On Monday, Ozekhome's lawyer cross-examined Mairiga, eliciting answers on technical procedures and general principles of the probe into the forgery allegations. The witness maintained that his examination revealed the Tali Shani passport was fake.
