By Amah
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An Abuja High Court on Friday granted bail to senior advocate Mike Ozekhome and Ponfa Useni in an ongoing trial over the alleged forgery of documents connected to a disputed property in the United Kingdom.
The defendants are facing a 12-count charge instituted by the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation (OAGF), bordering on alleged forgery and related offences. Both men pleaded not guilty when the charges were read before the court.
Earlier in the week, the Federal Government withdrew a separate three-count charge that had been filed against Ozekhome by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), leaving the current prosecution by the OAGF as the subsisting case.
According to the prosecution, the defendants allegedly forged key documents — including a Nigerian international passport and an irrevocable power of attorney — in an attempt to assert ownership of a property located at 79 Randall Avenue, London NW2. The property is said to have been originally acquired by the late Jeremiah Useni.
Specifically, the prosecution alleged that a Nigerian International Passport No. A07535463, bearing the name “Tali Shani,” was falsely created and presented as a genuine document purportedly issued by the Nigeria Immigration Service, with the intent of strengthening a claim over the London property.
At the hearing, defence counsel Tayo Oyetibo, SAN, representing Ozekhome, and F. R. Onoja, SAN, representing Useni, moved applications for bail on behalf of their clients. The prosecution counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, did not oppose the applications.
In her ruling, Justice Chizoba Oji admitted both defendants to bail in the sum of N10 million each, with one surety in like sum. The surety, the court held, must be a property owner within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The court further directed the defendants to deposit their international passports with the court as part of the bail conditions. Justice Oji observed that since the ruling was delivered on a Friday, the defendants could return home if they were unable to immediately perfect the bail terms. However, she ordered them to fulfil the conditions by Monday, failing which they would be remanded in custody.
The matter was adjourned until March 13 for trial.
The alleged offences are said to contravene Section 363 of the Penal Code Act, CAP 532, Laws of the FCT 2006, and are punishable under Section 364 of the same Act.
