The High Court of the Federal Capital Territory sitting in Maitama on Friday granted ₦10 million bail each to Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mike Ozekhome, and his co-defendant, Ponfa Useni, following their arraignment on a 12-count criminal charge.
The charges were instituted by the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation over allegations of document forgery, including 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 Jeremiah Useni.
Both defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Prosecuting counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), did not oppose the bail applications filed by Tayo Oyetibo (SAN) for Ozekhome and F.R. Onoja (SAN) for Useni.
In her ruling, Justice Chizoba Oji granted each defendant bail in the sum of ₦10 million with one surety apiece, who must own property within the FCT. She also ordered them to deposit their international passports with the court.
The judge stated that since the proceedings took place on a Friday, the defendants could return home if unable to immediately meet the bail conditions. However, she directed them to appear in court on Monday to perfect the conditions or risk being remanded in custody.