Ozekhome: Passport tendered in London property dispute fake – Immigration

The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has officially distanced itself from a Nigerian passport that surfaced in legal proceedings in the United Kingdom concerning a contested property in London. This property is reportedly linked to the estate of the late former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Jeremiah Useni.

During a trial at the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja, an NIS official, Aridegbe Akim, testified that the passport, purportedly issued under the name Tali Shani, is not recognized within the agency's electronic records. Akim, who serves as Principal Staff Officer to the Comptroller-General of Immigration, stated that the passport number provided did not correspond to any record in the NIS system and, crucially, did not undergo the established issuance procedures, which include payment, documentation, and biometric data capture.

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But, on inserting the name of Tali Shani, no record was found.

The NIS's disavowal of the document is a key development in the ongoing trial where Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mike Ozekhome, and Ponfa Useni face charges of forgery, impersonation, and related offenses. The prosecution alleges that these individuals, along with the deceased General Useni, forged the passport between 2020 and 2021 to support a claim to the London property. The NIS's testimony directly challenges the authenticity of a document central to the case, underscoring the Nigerian legal system's efforts to address alleged fraudulent activities, even when they involve international property disputes.

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The witness also stated that the NIS operates a structured system in which all issued passports are logged and verifiable, stressing that no such record existed for the passport tendered in the foreign proceedings.