The Federal Government of Nigeria has filed a three-count criminal charge against Chief Mike Ozekhome, Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), alleging forgery and use of false documents in connection with a disputed property in the United Kingdom.
The charge was filed by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Abuja on January 16, 2026.
The charge sheet, marked FCT/HC/CR/010/2026, was filed on behalf of the Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, by Osuobeni Akponimisingha, Head of the ICPC High Profile Prosecution Department, and Ngozi Onwuka, Assistant Chief Legal Officer.
It accuses Ozekhome, 68, of knowingly presenting forged documents, including a Nigerian international passport, to support his claim of ownership of a property at 79 Randall Avenue, London NW2 7SX.
According to the prosecution, the alleged offences were committed in August 2021. The first count asserts that Ozekhome directly received the London property from one Mr Shani Tali, “an act you knew constitutes a felony,” contrary to Section 13 and punishable under Section 24 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000.
The second count states that Ozekhome, while practising as a senior lawyer, made a false document — a Nigerian passport bearing number A07535463 in the name of Mr Shani Tali — with the intent to use it to support his property claim. This is alleged to contravene Sections 363 and 364 of the Penal Code applicable in the FCT.
In the third count, prosecutors allege that Ozekhome dishonestly used the purportedly forged passport as genuine despite having reason to believe it was false, in an attempt to deceive a public authority. This count is said to be contrary to Section 366 of the Penal Code.
The Federal Government listed several witnesses it intends to call at trial, including ICPC investigators and a representative of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS).
Documents to be tendered as exhibits are expected to include the judgment of the UK First-Tier Tribunal, extra-judicial statements, official correspondence and passport data relating to Mr Shani Tali. A trial date is yet to be fixed.
Ozekhome has not yet made an official public response to the charges.
The case relates to a long-running dispute over the ownership of the London property between Ozekhome and individuals associated with the late retired Lieutenant-General Jeremiah Useni.
Proceedings were earlier heard before the UK First-Tier Tribunal (Property Chamber), where the tribunal ruled that neither “Mr” nor “Ms” Tali Shani existed and declared Useni’s estate as the rightful owner.
The government’s action marks a high-profile escalation in the legal battle over the London property and reflects broader concerns over alleged misuse of documents in international property disputes involving Nigerian nationals.
