The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has instituted a criminal case against Chief Mike Ozekhome, SAN, over alleged fraudulent dealings connected to a property in London.
The anti-corruption agency filed a three-count charge at the Abuja High Court, accusing the senior lawyer of alleged involvement in a large-scale corruption scheme linked to the foreign property.
According to the charge filed by ICPC counsel, Osuobeni Akponimisingha, who heads the commission’s High Profile Prosecution Department, Ozekhome is the sole defendant in the case.
The charge, marked FCT/HC/CR/010/26, was dated and filed on Jan. 16 and sighted on Sunday.
In the first count, Ozekhome, 68, of No. 53, Nile Street, Maitama, Abuja, was accused of directly receiving House 79, Randall Avenue, London NW2 7SX, sometime in August 2021 or thereabout in London, purportedly from one Mr Shani Tali.
The commission alleged that the act constituted a felony, which the defendant knew, thereby committing an offence contrary to Section 13 and punishable under Section 24 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000.
In count two, the ICPC alleged that Ozekhome, while being a legal practitioner and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, sometime in August 2021 or thereabout, made a false document — a Nigeria passport A07535463, bearing the name of Mr Shani Tali.
The commission said the document was allegedly created with the intention of using it to support a claim of ownership of property described as “79, Randall Avenue, London NW2 78X with intent to commit fraud.”
It added that the alleged offence is contrary to Section 363 and punishable under Section 364 of the Penal Code CAP 532 Laws of the Federal Capital Territory Abuja, 2006.
Count three accused Ozekhome of dishonestly using as genuine the same false Nigeria passport A07535463, bearing the name of Mr Shani Tali, to support the ownership claim of ‘79, Randall Avenue, London NW2 7SX,’ despite having reason to believe that the document was false.
The ICPC said the offence is contrary to Section 366 and punishable under Section 364 of the Penal Code CAP 532 Laws of the Federal Capital Territory Abuja, 2006.
Documents listed in support of the charge include case number REF/2023/0155 (judgment) dated Sept. 11, 2025, the defendant’s extra-judicial statement dated Jan. 12, 2026, and records of interim forfeiture proceedings concerning the London property at the Federal High Court.
Other exhibits include a letter dated Dec. 18, 2025, a data page of Shani Tali, and additional documents relating to the case, which are still being awaited.
In its proof of evidence, the ICPC listed several witnesses, including Mr Wakili Musa and Mr Tosin Olayiwola, both investigators with the commission.
A representative of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), whose name was not specified, is also expected to testify to establish the case against the defendant.
Other witnesses include Mr Ebenezer Nduo and Mr Blessing Monokpo, also investigators with ICPC, alongside any other vital witness to be produced through subpoena or by filing an additional list of witnesses.
As of the time of filing this report, the case had not yet been assigned to a judge.
Recall that the ICPC launched an investigation into Ozekhome following a judgment by a London property tribunal that linked him and others to alleged fraud and forged documents.
The investigation was initiated after a petition submitted by Olanrewaju Suraj, head of the Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA).
The petition cited the British court judgment and accused Ozekhome and others of conspiring with corrupt Nigerian officials to procure fake national identity documents in order to “fraudulently claim ownership” of the North London property.
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