The Federal Government has filed a three-count criminal charge against a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mike Ozekhome, over alleged forgery and use of false documents in a contentious property case in the United Kingdom.
The charge, marked FCT/HC/CR/010/2026, was filed on Friday before a Federal High Court in Abuja by officials of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission on behalf of the Attorney-General of the Federation.
According to the charge sheet, Ozekhome allegedly presented forged documents, including a Nigerian international passport, to support his claim of ownership of a property located at 79 Randall Avenue, London NW2 7SX, during proceedings before the London First-Tier Tribunal.
Prosecutors alleged that the offences were committed in August 2021 in Abuja and London, within the jurisdiction of the FCT High Court.
The three counts border on giving false information, forgery, and using false documents with intent to deceive a public authority.
In one of the counts, the Federal Government alleged that Ozekhome knowingly received the London property from one Shani Tali, an act it said constituted a felony under the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act.
He is also accused of forging a Nigerian passport in the name of the same individual and using it as genuine to bolster his ownership claim before the UK tribunal.
The prosecution listed investigators and officials of the Nigerian Immigration Service as witnesses, while documents to be tendered include the judgment of the UK tribunal, extra-judicial statements, official correspondence, and passport data related to the disputed identity.
No date has yet been fixed for the defendant’s arraignment.
The charge stems from a prolonged ownership dispute over the London property, in which Ozekhome and the late retired Lieutenant-General Jeremiah Useni were named parties.
The case, filed before the UK First-Tier Tribunal (Property Chamber), listed Tali Shani as the applicant and Ozekhome as the respondent.
Ozekhome reportedly claimed the house was gifted to him in 2021 by Mr Tali Shani, while lawyers for another claimant, Ms Tali Shani, insisted she was the rightful owner.
However, after reviewing multiple documents and testimonies, the tribunal ruled that neither “Mr” nor “Ms” Tali Shani existed and held that the property was, in fact, owned by Useni under a false identity.
The Federal Government’s charges are believed to have arisen from findings linked to that UK judgment.
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