The Federal Government has filed a three-count criminal charge against Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Mike Ozekhome over alleged forgery and use of false documents in a disputed property case in the United Kingdom.
Filed under suit number FCT/HC/CR/010/2026, the charge was entered on Friday before a high court in Abuja by Osuobeni Akponimisingha, head of the high-profile prosecution department of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), and Ngozi Onwuka, assistant chief legal officer, on behalf of the Attorney-General of the Federation.
Prosecutors allege that Ozekhome knowingly presented forged documents, including a Nigerian international passport, to support his claim to a property at 79 Randall Avenue, London NW2 7SX, during proceedings before the London First-tier Tribunal. The alleged offences were said to have been committed around August 2021 in Maitama, Abuja, and in London, within the jurisdiction of the Federal Capital Territory high court.
According to the charge sheet, the three counts border on giving false information, making and using forged documents, and attempting to deceive a public authority, contrary to section 13 and punishable under section 24 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act 2000, as well as sections 363, 366 and 364 of the Penal Code CAP 532, Laws of the FCT, 2006. One count accuses Ozekhome of unlawfully receiving the London property purportedly given to him by one “Mr Tali Shani,” while the other counts allege that he fabricated and dishonestly used Nigerian passport A07535463 in the name of “Mr Shani Tali” to back his ownership claim.
The Federal Government listed several witnesses, including investigators and a representative of the Nigerian Immigration Service, and plans to tender as exhibits the judgment of the London First-tier Tribunal, extra-judicial statements, official correspondence and passport data linked to the disputed identity. The case, which stems from a long-running ownership controversy involving the late retired lieutenant-general Jeremiah Useni and a purported “Tali Shani,” is yet to be assigned a trial date.
