An Abuja High Court on Thursday permitted Mike Ozekhome to travel to the United Kingdom for six weeks to receive medical treatment, temporarily releasing his international passport.
Justice Chizoba Oji, who granted the application, ordered Ozekhome to return the passport to the court on or before August 26 after the medical trip.
Ozekhome and his co-defendant, Ponfa Useni, are standing trial on a 12-count charge bordering on alleged forgery and impersonation filed by the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF). The charges stem from a dispute over the ownership of a property in the United Kingdom.
The court had, on Tuesday, expressed concern that the prosecution had failed to deposit the defendants’ international passports with the court, despite the passports forming part of the bail conditions granted in February.
Justice Oji consequently directed the prosecution to produce the travel documents at Thursday’s sitting.
In compliance with the order, the prosecution presented the passports in court. After Ozekhome confirmed ownership of his passport, the court sought the prosecution’s position on his application for its temporary release.
C.L. Asonta, counsel to the prosecution, informed the court that there was no objection to the application but urged the court to direct Ozekhome to surrender the passport within three working days of his return to Nigeria.
Ruling on the application, Justice Oji held that, having considered the motion and noting the absence of any objection, the court would grant the temporary release of the passport to enable Ozekhome to undertake the medical trip.
The judge ruled that the six-week leave would run from July 9 to August 20, while directing that the passport be returned to the court on or before August 26.
The matter was subsequently adjourned until September 28 for the continuation of the trial.
Useni, the second defendant, is the son of the late Lt.-Gen. Jeremiah Useni, a former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory during the military administration of the late Sani Abacha.
According to the prosecution, the defendants conspired in 2020 to procure a false Nigerian international passport bearing the name “Tali Shani” with passport number A07535463.
The prosecution further alleged that Ozekhome assisted Useni in impersonating Tali Shani and that both defendants used a forged irrevocable power of attorney in an attempt to lay claim to the disputed UK property.
The defendants have pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
