Ozekhome To Perfect  Bail Terms Within Three Days Or Be Remanded

By Adesina Soyooye 

Legal “Star Boy” and Senior Lawyer, Mike Ozekhome, SAN, was, on Friday, told by an Abuja Federal High Court to perfect his bail terms by Monday or be remanded in prison custody.

Ozekhome was arraigned Friday by the Federal Government over an alleged complicity in a web of fraud perpetrated in a complicated string of crimes which ain was to  claim ownership of a disputed  United Kingdom property.

With a team of 91 Lawyers lined up in his defence, Ozekhome pleaded not guilty to the allegations  in a 12-count charge  read to him.

The Honourable Justice Chizoba Orji of a Federal Capital Territory High Court, Maitama, is in charge.

Docked with him is Ponfa Useni (Tali Shani), a son of late General Jeremiah Useni (Rtd), a former Minister of the FCT whose name is central to the alleged property fraud which borders on forgery and abetment of an offence.

Sometime in 2020, the Federal Government alleges, Ozekhome agreed with Ponfa Useni and the late General  Useni to commit an illegal act by making a false Nigerian International Passport No. A07535463 with the name Tali Shani.

The defendants allegedly  claimed that the forged passport was issued by the Nigerian Immigration Service “with the intent of using the same to support your claim of a property, lying, being, and situate at No. 79 Randall Avenue, London NW2, United Kingdom, and you thereby committed an offence contrary to section 96 of the Penal Code Law 2009 and punishable under section 364 of the same Law.”

Part of  the charge alleged that Ozekhome (1st defendant) “abetted the commission of an offence of cheating by personation when he jointly executed an irrevocable power of attorney dated May 30, 2020, with one Tali Shani, “a fictitious person,” to facilitate the claim of the UK property, and thereby committed an offence contrary to sections 83, 84, 321 of the Penal Code Law, 2009, and punishable under section 322 of the same Law.

Count 9 of the charge alleged that Ozekhome took control of the UK property, which is reasonably suspected to have been unlawfully obtained by General Jeremiah Useni (now deceased) under the fictitious name Tali Shani while in Count 10, he was alleged to have, within the period, collected the sum of £18,000 as rent that accrued from the property.

Useni, who was said to have falsely personated a fictitious person (Tali Shani), was cited as the 2nd defendant in the charge signed by the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, Mr. Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN.

The defendants pleaded not guilty of the allegations, and the prosecution counsel, Oyedepo, SAN, applied for a trial date.

But Tayo Oyetibo, SAN, Counsel to Ozekhome and that of his co-defendant, S.R. Onoja, SAN, pleaded for their release on bail. The application was not opposed by the prosecution.

Oyetibo, in his plea, informed the court that his client has always made himself available to anti-graft agencies, including the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), pointing out that Ozekhome’s international passport was already in the custody of the EFCC.

He said: “He has nowhere to run. The EFCC and ICPC granted him bail on self-recognition, and he will not leave Nigeria.” 

Counsel to the second defendant, Onoja, SAN, also prayed the court to grant bail, noting his client’s heart condition and the administrative bail previously granted by the EFCC on liberal terms.

Justice Orji granted the defendants bail in the sum of N10 million each, with a surety each in the like sum and emphasised that the sureties must be owners of landed property within the FCT. He, also, ordered the defendants to surrender their international passports and not travel outside the country without clearance.

Justice Orji allowed the defendants to go home since the Court proceedings took place on a Friday. But she asked them to return on Monday to perfect the bail terms failing which they would be remanded in prison custody.

Oyedepo, prosecuting  counsel raised complained about the unprecedented number of defence lawyers  and urged that it  be streamlined.

The trial was adjourned to March 13, April 15, and April 16, 2026.