Justice Chizoba Orji of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory has admitted senior lawyer Mike Ozekhome (SAN) and his co-defendant, Ponfa Useni, to bail in the sum of ₦10 million each following their arraignment on a 12-count criminal charge filed by the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation.
The defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges, which include allegations of document forgery. Among the documents cited in the charge are an international passport and an irrevocable power of attorney allegedly used to claim ownership of a London property said to have been unlawfully acquired by the late General Jeremiah Useni.
Prosecuting counsel to the AGF, Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), did not oppose the bail applications when defence lawyers Tayo Oyetibo (SAN), representing Ozekhome, and F. R. Onoja (SAN), appearing for Useni, urged the court to grant their clients bail.
In her ruling, Justice Orji granted each defendant bail in the sum of ₦10 million with one surety apiece. The surety, the court held, must own property within the Federal Capital Territory.
The court further directed the defendants to surrender their international passports as part of the bail conditions.
Justice Orji observed that since the proceedings were held on a Friday, the defendants could return home if they were unable to immediately perfect their bail terms. However, she ordered them to appear before the court on Monday to fulfil the conditions, warning that failure to do so would result in their remand in custody.
What You Should Know
Mike Ozekhome (SAN) and Ponfa Useni were arraigned on a 12-count charge bordering on alleged forgery of key documents, including an international passport and power of attorney linked to a disputed London property.
The prosecution did not oppose bail, and the court granted ₦10 million bail each with one surety who must own property in the FCT.
The defendants are required to deposit their international passports and must perfect their bail conditions by Monday or risk being remanded.
