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From Godwin Tsa, Abuja
A Nigerian rights advocacy group has alleged that a defendant facing multi-billion naira land fraud charges in Abuja obtained a fraudulent second international passport while her original travel document remained in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) as a bail condition, and called on the Attorney-General of the Federation to take over her prosecution.
The Initiative Against Human Rights Abuse and Torture (INAHURAT) made the allegations at a press briefing, accusing the defendant, Rebecca Omokamo Godwin-Isaac, also known as Hajia Bilikisu Ishaqu Aliyu, of using a network of contacts within law enforcement to evade trial conditions and undermine the prosecution’s case.
According to the group, although the defendant’s original passport, numbered B00485650, was seized and held in EFCC custody as a condition of her bail before Justice Joyce Obehi Abdul-Malik of the Federal High Court, Abuja, a second passport bearing the number B51450551 was issued to her by the Nigeria Immigration Service on February 15, 2025.
The group alleged she has since used the document to travel internationally without restriction.
INAHURAT called for a forensic audit of NIS issuance records from that date, and urged the Comptroller-General of Immigration and the Minister of Interior to identify and prosecute any personnel involved in producing the document.The group also alleged a pattern of removals and disciplinary actions against officials connected to the case.
It said the EFCC’s lead investigator, Elizabeth Eke, was transferred out of the agency’s headquarters shortly before the defendant’s arraignment, and that the FCTA’s Director of Investigations and Prosecutions, Joseph Eriki, faced what it described as an intimidation campaign after his reports questioned the defendant’s land title claims in Katampe and Guzape.
INAHURAT further claimed that the EFCC’s lead prosecutor on the case, Barrister Samuel Chime, was dismissed on June 1, weeks after details of an internal disciplinary finding against him were published online by a previously little-known civil society group.
The group described the timing as evidence the defendant had access to confidential internal agency communications.
The group’s spokesperson, Barrister Maxwell C. Opara, said he had personally faced intimidation over his involvement in the matter, including an incident at the former Inspector-General of Police’s office in October 2025, and an attempt to have him disbarred.
INAHURAT said it is petitioning the Attorney-General of the Federation to invoke powers under Section 174 of the 1999 Constitution to withdraw the case from police custody, appoint independent prosecutorial counsel, and direct a joint EFCC-NIS investigation into the passport’s issuance.
It also called for criminal charges against the defendant under Section 59 of the Immigration Act 2015, which addresses false statements and unlawful possession of multiple travel documents, and urged the EFCC to apply to revoke her bail.
The allegations have not been independently verified, and there was no immediate response from the EFCC, the Nigeria Immigration Service, or representatives for Rebecca Omokamo Godwin-Isaac.
