Immigration officer testifies in Ozekhome trial: Passport used to claim London property was fake

A prosecution witness in the ongoing trial of Senior Advocate of Nigeria Mike Agbedor Abu Ozekhome and Ponfa Useni has testified that a Nigerian international passport presented before a London tribunal to claim ownership of a property belonging to the late former FCT Minister Jeremiah Useni was fake.

Aridegbe Akeem, a Principal Staff Officer to the Controller General of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), gave evidence as the first prosecution witness before a Federal Capital Territory High Court on Friday.

Led in evidence by prosecuting counsel Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), Akeem told the court that the passport bearing the name Tali Shani with number A07535463 was not issued by the NIS and does not exist in the service’s database.

“The passport belonging to Tali Shani is fake,” Akeem stated.

The witness explained that the NIS received letters from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) requesting authentication of passports belonging to Ponfa Useni and Tali Shani. Upon checking the NIS database, it was discovered that while one passport was legitimately issued by the NIS, the Tali Shani passport was not.

Akeem detailed the standard procedure for passport issuance, explaining that applicants must make online payments, after which the database generates records alongside the National Identification Number (NIN).

He noted that Nigerian passports are now encrypted into the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) system, enabling international borders to access biometric data.

“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,” the witness testified.

The witness also testified that the NIS had no record of any official named Abdulkadir Lawal, who purportedly represented the service in connection with the matter.

He confirmed that letters written in Lawal’s name did not originate from the NIS and were therefore fake.

Several documents were tendered through the witness, including correspondence between the EFCC and NIS, as well as copies of both genuine and fake passports.

Under cross-examination by Ozekhome’s counsel, Tayo Oyetibo (SAN), Akeem disclosed that he became Principal Staff Officer in December 2023 and had been on out-post duty outside Nigeria prior to July 2023. He also noted that Nigeria was fully admitted into PKG and PKI systems in 2025, which are ICAO upgrades.

Following a request for adjournment by Oyetibo, which was not opposed by the prosecution, Justice Chizoba Oji adjourned the case until April 15 for continuation of trial.

The defendants face a 12-count charge brought by the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation, including allegations of forgery, presenting a fake passport, impersonation, and using a fictitious identity to execute a power of attorney in an attempt to claim ownership of property located at 79 Randall Avenue, London NW2, United Kingdom.

About The Author

Dele Fashomi

Dele Fashomi, seasoned journalist and communication teacher, is a holder of Master of Arts degree in Communication and Language Arts from the University of Ibadan in 1992/93.

Earlier, he had bagged a Bachelor degree from the same university in 1984, after which he proceeded to the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Lagos, in 1990, for a postgraduate diploma in Journalism.

He had done many courses in communication, including the EU-BBC Editing Course in 2002.

Mr. Fashomi combines effectively the practice, research and teaching of communication. And to date, he has published two academic works in communication: Issues in Communication Technology and Policy (2010) and Economic and Social Issues in Advertising and PR (2013).

He had his first break in the Nigerian media in Concord Newspapers in 1990 and today, he has over two and half decades experience earned in several newspapers.

He has been part of many start-ups, such as The Republic (1987), The Comet (1999), The Anchor 2001 – 2002; Sun Newspapers (2003); Westerner newsmagazine (2005 – 2010) as Editor; National Life (2011) as Sunday Editor, and Newswatch Newspapers (2012- 2016) as Daily Editor.

Dele Fashomi is now the Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of Newstide247.com newspaper online, which he started in July 2015. He is also into biography writing, with many books in his trail, some of which he wrote alone and one he co- authored with his mentor, Mr Dare Babarinsa, entitled:  Olabiyi Durojaiye – DARE TO BE DiFFERENT. He also guided and collaborated with Pa Olatunji Odusanya in writing his autobiography – AGAINST ALL ODDS. There are many other books in the works under his pen.

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