London property: Ozekhome, Useni presented fake Nigerian passport, witness tells court

Ozekhome

A prosecution witness in the ongoing trial of Mike Agbedor Abu Ozekhome (SAN) and Ponfa Useni has told a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory that the defendants allegedly presented a fake Nigerian international passport before a London tribunal in an attempt to claim a property linked to the late former FCT Minister, Jeremiah Useni.

Ozekhome and Useni are being prosecuted before a High Court of the FCT by the office of the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) on a 12-count charge in which they are, among others, accused of forging documents, including an international passport and an irrevocable power of attorney, and engaging in impersonation to lay claim to a property in London allegedly acquired unlawfully by the late Useni.

The witness, Aridegbe Akeem, who said he is a Principal Staff Officer to the Controller General of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), testified as the first prosecution witness during Friday’s hearing.

Led in evidence by prosecuting lawyer, Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), Akeem said the passport bearing the name Tali Shani and marked A07535463 was not issued by the NIS, adding, “it is not in our database , the passport belonging to Tali Shani is fake.”

Akeem said the NIS received letters from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) requesting it to authenticate the passports of Ponfa Useni and Tali Shani.He said that after checking the NIS database, it was discovered that one of the passports was not issued by the NIS, while the other, belonging to one Useni, was issued by the NIS.

The witness said the findings were subsequently forwarded to the EFCC.

When asked to explain the procedure for the issuance of a Nigerian international passport, Akeem said that after an applicant makes an online payment for the passport, the database generates the record, following which the breeder documents are generated and input into the system, alongside the National Identification Number (NIN).“This then generates the data for every applicant for a passport,” he said, adding that Nigerian passports are now encrypted into the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), making it easier for international borders to access biometric data.

The witness added: “Therefore, any passport the NIS produces goes through a systematic process before its final production. But such was not the case with Tali Shani. On inserting Tali Shani name, no record was found.”

He said the NIS system works in such a way that “once you insert a name, it brings out the particulars and history of that person. But, on inserting this Tali Shani, no record was found.”

Akeem also said that the NIS did not have any record of sales in respect of the passport in question. Nation