Court Grants Mike Ozekhome Permission to Travel to UK for Treatment, Adjourns Forgery Trial

The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Maitama Abuja, has granted suspended Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Mike Ozekhome, permission to travel to the United Kingdom for six weeks to undergo medical treatment, while adjourning his alleged forgery and impersonation trial until September 28.

Justice Chizoba Oji granted the application on Thursday after the prosecution informed the court that it had no objection to the request.

The judge ordered that Ozekhome's international passport be temporarily released to enable the trip, with the condition that he returns it to the court on or before August 26, 2026.

The court ruled that the approved six-week trip would run from July 9 to August 20.

Before granting the application, the prosecution counsel, C.L. Asonta, confirmed there was no objection but requested that Ozekhome be directed to return his passport within three working days of his return to Nigeria.

After considering the application, Justice Oji approved the request.

"Having considered the motion and no objection, I hereby grant the request and temporary release of the first defendant's international passport to enable him to go for his medical trip," the judge ruled.

The court subsequently adjourned further proceedings in the case until September 28.

The development followed an earlier directive issued by the court after it emerged that the prosecution had not deposited the defendants' international passports with the court despite a previous bail order.

Justice Oji had ordered the prosecution to produce the passports in court on Thursday.

The prosecution complied with the directive and presented the passports, which were identified by Ozekhome and his co-defendant, Ponfa Useni, before the court considered the travel application.

Ozekhome and Useni are standing trial on a 12-count charge bordering on alleged forgery and impersonation.

The charges arise from a long-running dispute over the ownership of a property in the United Kingdom allegedly linked to the late former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Lt.-Gen. Jeremiah Useni (retd.).

The Attorney-General of the Federation arraigned both defendants in February, accusing them of conspiracy, forgery and impersonation in connection with documents allegedly used to support ownership claims over the London property.

The prosecution alleges that forged Nigerian identity documents, including a passport bearing the name "Tali Shani," were used during the disputed property transaction.

Both defendants have pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

The prosecution has called two witnesses since the trial commenced.

A senior official of the Nigeria Immigration Service told the court that the passport bearing the name "Tali Shani" was not issued by the agency and does not exist in its official database despite containing features similar to genuine travel documents.

A forensic document examiner also testified that his examination concluded the passport was not authentic.

During cross-examination, however, Ozekhome's defence team questioned the forensic expert extensively on the technical procedures adopted during the investigation.

The trial is expected to resume on September 28 following Ozekhome's return from his medical trip to the United Kingdom.