Barring any last-minute changes, the Federal Government is set to arraign Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Chief Mike Ozekhome before the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Maitama, Abuja, on Monday, January 26, over alleged fraud involving a property in London, United Kingdom.
The arraignment is scheduled to take place in Courtroom 4, according to a hearing notice obtained by The Telegraph on Wednesday. In the case, Ozekhome is listed as the sole defendant, with the Federal Republic of Nigeria as the plaintiff.
The prosecution will be led by Osuobeni Akponimisingha, Head of the High Profile Prosecution Department of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC). The notice states that the matter “will be transferred from the general cause list to the hearing paper for Monday, the 26th day of January, 2026, at 9:00 a.m.”
The notice further advises that any party seeking to postpone the hearing must promptly apply to the court and provide supporting evidence if the application is fact-based. Parties wishing to compel the attendance of witnesses are required to give reasonable notice.
Ozekhome faces three counts in the charge filed by the ICPC on January 16. The first alleges that in August 2021, Ozekhome received House 79, Randall Avenue, London NW2 7SX, purportedly given to him by Mr. Shani Tali, while knowing the act 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 alleges that while acting as a legal practitioner and SAN, Ozekhome created a false Nigerian passport (No. A07535463) in Mr. Shani Tali’s name in August 2021 to support a fraudulent claim of ownership over the London property, contrary to Section 363 and punishable under Section 364 of the Penal Code, Laws of the FCT, Abuja.
The third count alleges that Ozekhome used the false passport to substantiate the property ownership claim, knowing the document was fraudulent, contrary to Section 366 and punishable under Section 364 of the Penal Code.
The case follows a petition to the ICPC by Mr. Olanrewaju Suraj, head of the Human and Environmental Development Agenda. The petition referenced a British court judgment accusing Ozekhome and others of conspiring with corrupt Nigerian officials to procure fake national identity documents to “fraudulently claim ownership” of a property in North London.
According to the ICPC, the investigation was launched after a London property tribunal issued a judgment implicating Ozekhome and others in a network of fraud and forged documents.
