The Federal Government has filed criminal charges against Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mike Ozekhome, over alleged forgery and use of false documents linked to a disputed property in the United Kingdom.
Ozekhome, 68, is being prosecuted by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, according to court documents obtained on Sunday.
The three-count charge was filed on Friday before a Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja on behalf of the Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi.
The charges were instituted by the ICPC’s Head of High Profile Prosecution Department, Osuobeni Akponimisingha, alongside Assistant Chief Legal Officer, Ngozi Onwuka.
According to the charge sheet, the senior lawyer is accused of knowingly presenting forged documents, including a Nigerian passport, to support a claim of ownership of a property located at 79 Randall Avenue, London NW2 7SX, during proceedings before the London First-Tier Tribunal.
The alleged offences were said to have been committed in August 2021, partly in London and partly in Abuja, within the jurisdiction of the FCT High Court.
In the first count, Ozekhome is accused of directly receiving the London property, allegedly given to him by one Shani Tali, in a transaction the prosecution claims constitutes a felony under the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000.
The second count alleges that he made a false Nigerian passport bearing the name of Shani Tali with the intent to use it to support his claim of ownership of the London property, contrary to provisions of the Penal Code applicable in the FCT.
The third count accuses him of dishonestly using the allegedly forged passport as a genuine document to advance the property claim, despite having reason to believe it was false.
The Federal Government has listed several witnesses it intends to call at trial, including ICPC investigators and a representative of the Nigerian Immigration Service.
Documents expected to be tendered include the judgment of the London First-Tier Tribunal, extra-judicial statements, official correspondence and passport data relating to Shani Tali.
The case is yet to be assigned a hearing date, while Ozekhome has not made any official public comment on the charges as of the time of filing this report.
The charges arise from a long-running property dispute in the United Kingdom involving Ozekhome and the late former minister, Jeremiah Useni.
The matter was heard by the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) Land Registration in the UK, where competing claims were made by persons identified as Mr and Ms Tali Shani.
In its ruling, the tribunal dismissed all claims after finding that neither Mr nor Ms Tali Shani existed, declaring Useni as the lawful owner of the property.
