Justice Ngwuta lied to get two diplomatic passports –NIS officer

A Nigeria Immigration Service officer, Mr. Tanko Kutana, testifying before a Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday, explained that embattled Supreme Court Justice Sylvester Ngwuta allegedly lied to get two diplomatic passports.

According to Kutana, the suspended justice provided false date of birth and falsely declared to the NIS that he lost his diplomatic passport in 2016. This lie he said, enabled him to obtain another diplomatic passport, which he allegedly continued to use interchangeably alongside the 2014 passport Ngwuta claimed he had lost.

Kutana is the Deputy Controller of Immigration and the third prosecution witness in Ngwuta’s trial on charges of money laundering and passport fraud offences levelled against him by the Federal Government.

Before his redeployment to the Benue State Command of the NIS, Kutana used to work at the Document Fraud Unit, the forensic investigative arm of the NIS in Abuja.

In his earlier testimony on March 17, 2017, he had among other things told the court that aside the two valid diplomatic passports owned by Justice Ngwuta, that the defendant also has two Nigerian standard passports with valid United States of America’s visas.
Kutana had concluded his testimony and have been cross-examined by the defence team led by Chief Kanu Agabi (SAN).

He was however recalled by the lead prosecuting counsel, Mrs. Olufemi Fatunde, after a later amendment of the charges against Ngwuta was raised from counts 12 to 13.

Kutana was led in evidence by Fatunde, on Monday.

In his witness, Kutana explained that the NIS authorities introduced the 64 pages passport in 2014, top government functionaries in the Presidency, presiding officers of the National Assembly and Justices of He further said that Justice Ngwuta was asked to return the 2012 passport after a new one was issued in 2014, alleging that the justice refused.

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Acccording to him, in 2016, Justice Ngwuta, through a letter written by the Supreme Court, and backed by an extract of police diary, declared the new 2014 64-page passport missing. He said following the report of the loss, a new diplomatic passport was issued to Justice Ngwuta in 2016.

Aside falsely declaring the 2014 passport missing, Kutana said that Justice Ngwuta gave 1951 as his year of birth for the processing of the passport in 2014, instead of the 1952 he had always given to the NIS as his birth year for the issuance of the three other passports.

“I examined the database of the four passports to ensure the biodata was alright. The biodata information was alright. I also examined the visa pages to look at the endorsements.

“The first discovery was the year of birth in the 64-page passport issued in 2014 which had 1951 as the year of birth while the three others had 1952 as the year of birth. Diplomatic passports are issued to entitled persons and we rely on the information supplied to us by the entitled persons.

“The entitled person in respect of the four diplomatic passports is Justice Ngwuta Nwali Sylvester. Then I also discovered that the second passport issued to him on November 29, 2012 (Exhibit 13B) was issued to him to replace the nearly expired diplomatic passport issued to him in 2007. The 2012 passport was expected to expire on December 13, 2012.

“When the Nigeria Immigration Service issued to him the 64-page passport in 2014, he was also asked to return the 2012 diplomatic passport, which was still valid till 2017. But the endorsements on 2012 passports showed that he was still holding the two passports and using them interchangeably,” he said.

All the four diplomatic passports issued to Justice Ngwuta in 2007, 2012, 2014 and 2016 were tendered by the prosecution and admitted by the court as Exhibits 13A to 13D.

The trial judge, Justice John Tsoho, adjourned the matter until October 6 for the cross-examination of the witness by the defence team led by Kanu Agabi.

He also fixed October 20, 26 and 27 for the continuation of the trial.

 

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