Court Grants Ozekhome N10m Bail Over Forgery Charges

On Friday, a high court in Maitama, Federal Capital Territory, granted bail in the sum of N10 million to senior advocate Mike Ozekhome, who is co-defending Ponfa Useni, recently arraigned on 12 counts of criminal charges filed by the Federal Ministry of Justice. The charges allege the forgery of documents, including an international passport and an irrevocable power of attorney, purportedly used to unlawfully claim properties in London belonging to the late Jeremiah Useni.

Useni pleaded not guilty to the charges. Prosecuting counsel Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, did not oppose the bail application, which was moved by Tayo Oyetibo, SAN, on behalf of Ozekhome and Useni.

Justice Chizoba Oji admitted the defendants to bail on the condition of providing a surety who owns property within the Federal Capital Territory and ordered the deposit of Useni's international passport with the court. The judge instructed that the defendants report back to court on Monday if they fail to perfect the bail conditions immediately.