The Federal Government has filed a criminal charge against a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Mike Ozekhome, over alleged forgery and use of false documents in a disputed property case in the United Kingdom.
Ozekome, 68, is being prosecuted by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), a document obtained by Channels Television on Sunday revealed.
The three-count charge was filed before a Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Abuja on Friday by ICPC’s Head of High Profile Prosecution Department, Osuobeni Akponimisingha, and Assistant Chief Legal Officer, Ngozi Onwuka, on behalf of the Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi.
The senior lawyer is accused of knowingly presenting forged documents, including a Nigerian 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.
The alleged offences were committed sometime in August 2021 in the Maitama area of the nation’s capital, within the jurisdiction of the FCT High Court.
The charge sheet shows three counts, bordering on giving false information, use of forged documents, and attempting to deceive a public authority.
Charges
The first count alleges that sometime in August 2021, he directly received House 79 Randall Avenue, London, purportedly given to him by one Shani Tali in a transaction the ICPC says constitutes a felony under the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000.
The second count accuses the senior lawyer of “making a false document,” a Nigerian passport bearing number A07535463 in the name of Mr Shani Tali, with the intent to support a claim of ownership of the London property. This charge is filed under the Penal Code of the Federal Capital Territory.
In the third count, Ozekhome is accused of “dishonestly” using the allegedly false passport as genuine to support the property ownership claim when he had reason to believe the document was false.
The Counts
Count One: That you Chief Mike Ozekhome, SAN (M) ‘68yrs’ of No. 53, Nile Street, Maitama, Abuja, sometime in August, 2021 or thereabout at a place outside Nigeria i.e. London, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, directly received House 79 Randall Avenue, London NW2 7SX purportedly given to you by one Mr. Shani Tali, an act you knew constitutes a felony and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 13 and punishable under Section 24 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences, Act, 2000.
Count Two: That you Chief Mike Ozekhome, SAN (M) ‘68yrs’ of No. 53, Nile Street, Maitama, Abuja, sometime in August 2021 or thereabout at Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, while being a legal practitioner and Senior Advocate of Nigeria did make a false document, to wit: Nigeria passport A07535463 bearing the name of Mr. Shani Tall with intent to use same to support claim of ownership of property known and described as “79 Randall Avenue, London NW2 7SX with intent to commit fraud and you thereby committed an offence 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: That you Chief Mike Ozekhome, SAN (M) ‘68yrs’ of No. 53, Nile Street, Maitama, Abuja, sometime in August 2021 or thereabout at Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, while being a legal practitioner and Senior Advocate of Nigeria dishonestly used as genuine a false “Nigeria passport A07535463 bearing the name of Mr. Shani Tali to support claim of ownership of property known and described as “79 Randall Avenue, London NW2 7SX when you had reason to believe that the said document was false and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 366 and punishable under Section 364 of the Penal Code CAP 532 Laws of the Federal Capital Territory Abuja, 2006.
The senior lawyer has yet to comment officially on the fresh charges.
Witnesses
However, the Federal Government listed several witnesses it intends to call during the trial, including its investigators and a representative of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS).
Documents to be tendered as exhibits include the judgment of the London First-Tier Tribunal, extra-judicial statements, letters from relevant authorities, and passport data relating to Shani Tali.
The case has yet to be assigned a trial date.
Named in the property dispute are Ozekhome and the late Jeremiah Useni.
It was filed at the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) Land Registration, UK, under case number REF/2023/0155, with Tali Shani as the applicant and Ozekhome as the respondent.
The property had been claimed by one ‘Ms Tali Shani on one hand and Ozekhome on the other.
Ozekhome had said he received the house as a gift from ‘Mr Tali Shani’ in 2021, while lawyers for ‘Ms Shani’ insisted she was the rightful owner.
A witness known as ‘Mr Tali Shani had testified in favour of Ozekhome, claiming that he had “Powers of Attorney” over the property and had transferred the property to the respondent (Ozekhome).
Mr Tali Shani asserted ownership of the property from 1993 and claimed he later appointed Useni as his property manager, describing Useni as an “elder friend and business partner”.
On the other hand, several documents, including an obituary announcement, NIN card, ECOWAS passport, phone number, etc were tendered by witnesses of Ms Tali Shani to claim ownership of the property.
However, the tribunal found all the documents tendered for Ms Tali Shani to be fake.
The tribunal subsequently dismissed all claims, ruling that neither “Mr” nor “Ms” Tali Shani existed and the real owner was Useni.
