Justice Ngwuta’s usage of 7 passports not genuine mistake- Witness

An official of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), Nuhu Tanko Kutana and the 3th prosecution witness in the trial of Justice Sylvester Ngwuta of the Supreme Court on Friday told a Federal High Court in Abuja that the usage of four diplomatic passports, two standard international passport and one ECOWAS passport simultaneously was not a genuine mistake on part of the defendant.

Testifying under cross examination led by the defendant counsel Mr. Kanu Agabi (SAN), the witness said that the defendant had in his possession four Diplomatic passports, three Standard International Passports and one ECOWAS passport.

He further told the court that the defendant’s conduct and usage of the passports he had declared missing in a sworn affidavit did not show that it was a genuine mistake as the defendant went ahead and started using them.

Defendant’s lawyer Agabi (SAN) had suggested that the defendant had made a genuine mistake with the usage of the passports.

But the witness said the defendant would have reported to the Nigerian Immigration Services who issued him with replacement passports at the time he recovered the ones he claimed were lost.

Kutana ,the witness admitted he made two statements but stated that the additional statement was based on what he saw later in the document after he wrote the first statement.

At this point the defendant lawyer requested to tender the additional statement and it was admitted in evidence as an exhibit.
Mr. Kutana said he analysed the seven passports handed to him by the office of the Attorney General of Federation and found that all were genuine .

That they were all authorized based on letters written on the directive of the defendant by one Mrs L Nwankwo a protocol officer with the Supreme Court .

He agreed that Mrs Nwankwo misinformed the Nigerian Immigration Service on the directive of Justice Ngwuta that he had lost his passports.

He said that “under our law there are circumstances where you can have Standard passport and Diplomatic passports but you are not allowed to have two valid Diplomatic passports at same time. It is illegal.”

According to him, when passport is issued in replacement of an old one, the number is endorsed on the new replaced passport.

He added that the number of the passport on exhibit 5 (a) was endorsed on the new passport exhibit 5 (b), that was issued for replacement , adding that by using the one he had declared lost he misled the service”.

The witness also stated that there were two valid visas on exhibit 5 (a) diplomatic passport that was reported lost and exhibit 5 (b) the replaced diplomatic passport because the defendant went and applied for another visa for the replaced passport exhibit 5 (b).

He said it is an offence to discard with a passports that is valid and ask for the issuance of a new one.

He said the defendant failed to report when he found the old one and he began to use it.

“We make allowance for genuine mistakes but the defendant conducts did not show that it is a genuine mistake as he went ahead and started to use it.

Justice John Tsoho has adjourned the case to 20th and 27 October for continuation.