From Victor Osula, Abuja
The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Abuja has struck out a three-count criminal charge against senior lawyer, Mike Ozekhome, following the withdrawal of the case by the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Lateef Fagbemi.
Ozekhome, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), had been arraigned before Justice Peter Kekemeke of the FCT High Court, Maitama, by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) over allegations of property forgery involving a house located at 79, Randall Avenue, London NW2 7SX.
Filed by the Commission’s Head of High Profile Prosecution Department, Osuobeni Akponimisingha, alongside an Assistant Chief Legal Officer, Ngozi Onwuka, the ICPC had instituted the charges on behalf of the AGF.
At a resumed hearing on Tuesday, the Director of Public Prosecution of the Federation (DPPF), Rotimi Oyedepo, informed the court that the AGF had instructed him to withdraw the charges pursuant to Section 108 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015. The move, he said, was to allow the AGF to conduct a comprehensive review of all ongoing cases handled by federal agencies.
Counsel to the defendant, Paul Erokoro, who led a team of more than 15 Senior Advocates of Nigeria, did not object to the withdrawal. Following the application, Justice Kekemeke struck out the charges.
The ICPC filed a three-count charge against Ozekhome on January 16, 2026. Marked FCT/HC/CR/010/26, the charges were linked to a protracted property dispute in the United Kingdom involving Ozekhome and the late former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Jeremiah Useni.
The matter was heard by the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber), Land Registration, UK, under case number REF/2023/0155, with Tali Shani listed as applicant and Ozekhome as respondent.
While Ozekhome claimed he received the property as a gift from “Mr Tali Shani” in 2021, lawyers representing “Ms Tali Shani” insisted she was the rightful owner. However, the tribunal dismissed all claims, holding that neither “Mr” nor “Ms” Tali Shani existed, and ruled that the actual owner of the property was the late Jeremiah Useni.
The alleged offences were said to have been committed in August 2021, partly in London and partly in Maitama, Abuja, within the jurisdiction of the FCT High Court.
According to ICPC, Ozekhome allegedly presented forged documents, including a Nigerian passport, to support a claim of ownership of the property located at No. 79 Randall Avenue, London NW2 7SX, during proceedings before the London First-Tier Tribunal.
The three counts border on receiving property believed to be proceeds of a felony, making a false document, and dishonestly using a forged document as genuine.
In the first count, the SAN was accused of receiving the London property from one Mr Shani Tali, an act the ICPC alleged he knew constituted a felony, contrary to Section 13 and punishable under Section 24 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000.
The second count alleged that Ozekhome, while acting as a legal practitioner, made a false Nigerian passport bearing number A07535463 in the name of Mr Shani Tali, with the intent to use it to support his ownership claim over the disputed property, contrary to Sections 363 and 364 of the Penal Code applicable in the FCT.
The third count accused him of dishonestly using the allegedly forged passport as genuine to back the property claim, despite having reason to believe that the document was false.
With the AGF’s intervention and the court’s ruling, the case against the senior advocate has effectively ended, marking a significant development in one of Nigeria’s high-profile legal matters.
