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The Nigerian Government has filed criminal charges against Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mike Ozekhome, over alleged forgery and the use of false documents in connection with a disputed property in the United Kingdom.
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) is prosecuting Ozekhome, 68, according to charge documents obtained on Sunday. The commission filed a three-count charge before a High Court in Abuja on Friday on behalf of the Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi.
The ICPC alleges that Ozekhome knowingly presented forged documents, including a Nigerian passport, to support his claim of ownership of a property at 79 Randall Avenue, London NW2 7SX, during proceedings before the London First-tier Tribunal. Prosecutors say the alleged offences occurred in August 2021 in Maitama, Abuja.
The charges include giving false information, using forged documents and attempting to deceive a public authority. One count accuses Ozekhome of directly receiving the London property as a purported gift from Shani Tali, an act the commission says constitutes a felony under the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act. Another count alleges that he made a false Nigerian passport in the name of Shani Tali to bolster his ownership claim, while a third count claims he dishonestly used the passport as genuine despite knowing it was false.
Ozekhome has not publicly responded to the allegations.
The government plans to call several witnesses, including ICPC investigators and a representative of the Nigerian Immigration Service. Prosecutors also intend to tender documents such as the judgment of the London tribunal, extra-judicial statements, official correspondence and passport records. The court has yet to fix a trial date.
The charges arise from a long-running property dispute involving Ozekhome and the late Jeremiah Useni. The case, filed before the UK First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber), featured competing claims by individuals identified as Mr and Ms Tali Shani. While Ozekhome maintained that he received the house as a gift in 2021, opposing counsel challenged the claim.
The tribunal ultimately ruled that neither Mr nor Ms Tali Shani existed and held that Useni was the true owner of the property, dismissing all competing claims.
