Olayiwola Matthew
Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), has said that the name; Tali Shani used to claim a disputed London property does not appear in the database of the service.
Akim spoke while under cross-examination in the ongoing trial of Mike Ozekhome, a senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN).
Ozekhome and Ponfa Useni, son of the late Jeremiah Useni, the former minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), are standing trial on a 12-count charge before an FCT high court in Maitama.
They are alleged to have forged a passport, impersonating a fictitious person, Tali Shani, to lay claim to the London property.
On the last adjourned date, Akim had stated that the Nigerian passport with number A07535463, purportedly belonging to Tali Shani, was not issued by the immigration service.
Under cross-examination by Tayo Oyetibo, Ozekhome’s counsel, and F. R. Onoja, Ponfa’s counsel, the witness, a principal staff to the comptroller general of the NIS, said the service keeps a record of all passports it issued.
He said the service operates a comprehensive electronic database that captures all passport details from application to issuance, including biometric data and national identification number (NIN).
The witness said the NIS system is designed to retrieve the full profile and history of any passport holder once their details are entered.
“Once you insert a name, it brings out the particulars and history of that person, but on inserting this Tali Shani, no record was found,” he said.
He added that the passport issuance process involves several stages, including payment, generation of breeder documents, biometric enrolment, production and issuance.
Akim said none of these processes was found in relation to the disputed passport.
He said Nigerian passports are machine-readable and contain security features tied to unique identification numbers generated by manufacturers.
He noted that although the disputed passport appeared similar to genuine Nigerian passports, each valid document must correspond with records in the NIS database.
After Akim’s testimony, A. R. Tahir, prosecuting counsel, asked for an adjournment to enable the prosecution to call its second witness. The request was not opposed by the defence.
Chizoba Oji, the presiding judge, adjourned the case to May 18 for continuation of trial.
BACKGROUND
The controversy centres on a property located at 79 Randall Avenue, London NW2 7SX.
Named in the property dispute are Ozekhome and Jeremiah Useni, a retired lieutenant-general and former FCT minister, who is now deceased.
The case was filed at the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) Land Registration, United Kingdom (UK), under case number REF/2023/0155, with Tali Shani as the applicant and Ozekhome as the respondent.
The property had been claimed by one “Ms Tali Shani” on one hand and by Ozekhome on the other.
Ozekhome said he received the house as a gift from “Mr Tali Shani” in 2021, while lawyers for “Ms Shani” insisted she was the rightful owner.
A witness known as “Mr Tali Shani” testified in favour of Ozekhome, claiming that he had “powers of attorney” over the property and had transferred the property to the respondent (Ozekhome).
Mr Tali Shani asserted ownership of the property from 1993 and claimed he later appointed Useni as his property manager, describing him as an “elder friend and business partner.”
On the other hand, several documents, including an obituary announcement, NIN card, ECOWAS passport, phone number, etc., were tendered by witnesses of “Ms Tali Shani” to claim ownership of the property.
However, the tribunal found all the documents tendered for “Ms Tali Shani” to be fake. The tribunal subsequently dismissed all claims, ruling that neither “Mr” nor “Ms” Tali Shani existed.
It held that the real owner, operating under a false identity, was Useni.
Meanwhile, a federal high court in Abuja has granted final forfeiture of a London property.
