Court Hears Passport Linked to London Property Fraud Case Was Not Issued by Immigration Service

A prosecution witness on Friday told an Abuja High Court that a passport bearing the name Tali Shani was not issued by the Nigeria Immigration Service. The testimony was presented during the opening of the trial involving senior lawyer Mike Ozekhome and Ponfa Useni over an alleged London property fraud case.

The witness, Mr Aridegbe Akim, appeared before the court as part of the prosecution’s case led by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. The Office of the Attorney General of the Federation had earlier filed a 12 count charge against the defendants, accusing them of forgery and related offences.

According to the prosecution, the defendants allegedly forged several documents including an international passport and an irrevocable power of attorney in order to lay claim to a property in London. The property was said to have been originally procured by the late General Jeremiah Useni. Both defendants have denied the allegations and pleaded not guilty to the charges brought against them.

During the hearing, prosecution counsel Rotimi Oyedepo called Akim as the first witness. Akim is a principal staff member to the Comptroller General of the Nigeria Immigration Service. Through him, the prosecution tendered several documents including official correspondence between the EFCC and the Immigration Service as well as responses from the agency. Genuine and suspected fake passports were also presented as part of the evidence before the court.

Counsel to the first defendant, Tayo Oyetibo, and counsel to the second defendant, F R Onoja, did not object to the documents being tendered. However, both legal representatives said they would address the issues raised during their final written submissions.

The trial judge, Justice Chizoba Oji, admitted the documents and marked them as exhibits in the case file.

While giving his testimony, Akim stated clearly that the Nigerian passport with number A07535463 was not issued by the Nigeria Immigration Service. According to him, a search of the agency’s database showed that there was no record of a passport issued to anyone with the name Tali Shani.

He explained that the Immigration Service received official communication from the EFCC requesting verification of the passports belonging to both Tali Shani and Jeremiah Useni. After conducting a thorough search within the Immigration database, officials discovered that the passport linked to Tali Shani was not authentic while the passport belonging to Useni was confirmed to have been issued by the service.

Akim added that the results of the verification were formally communicated back to the EFCC.

The witness also explained to the court the official procedure involved in obtaining a Nigerian passport. According to him, applicants are required to complete an online payment process which automatically generates a record in the Immigration database. Supporting documents and personal details including the National Identification Number are then uploaded and verified before the passport is approved for production.

He further noted that Nigerian passports are integrated into the International Civil Aviation Organisation system, allowing border authorities around the world to access biometric details linked to each passport holder.

Because of this process, he said every valid Nigerian passport must appear in the agency’s database with complete personal information and travel records.

However, when officials attempted to search for the name Tali Shani in the database, no record was found.

Akim explained that the Immigration system is designed to produce a person’s history and personal details once their name is entered. In this case, no such information was available, reinforcing the conclusion that the passport was fake.

The witness also revealed that the Immigration Service had received another letter from the EFCC requesting that Abdulkadir Lawal be interviewed. After checking the agency’s legal unit and staff records, officials discovered that no person with that name existed within the service.

To confirm their findings, the agency extended the search to the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System but still found no record of such a person.

During cross examination, defence counsel Oyetibo asked the witness about his role in the Immigration Service. Akim informed the court that he became a principal staff officer in December 2023 and had previously been on outpost duty outside Nigeria before July 2023.

He also told the court that Nigeria gained full admission into the Public Key Directory and Public Key Infrastructure systems under the International Civil Aviation Organisation in 2025, which further strengthened passport authentication processes.

After the testimony, defence counsel requested an adjournment to continue cross examination at a later date.

Justice Chizoba Oji subsequently adjourned the case until April 15 for continuation of proceedings.