ICPC to arraign Ozekhome Monday over UK property

Barring any last-minute changes, the Federal Government is set to arraign a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, 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 sighted 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.

The notice states that the case “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.”

It also advises that if either party seeks to postpone the hearing, they must apply to the court promptly and provide evidence if the application is fact-based. Parties seeking to enforce witness attendance are required to give reasonable notice.

Ozekhome faces three counts in the charge filed by the ICPC on January 16.

The first count alleges that in August 2021 in London, Ozekhome directly received House 79, Randall Avenue, London NW2 7SX, purportedly given to him by Mr. Shani Tali, 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) bearing Mr. Shani Tali’s name in August 2021 to support a fraudulent claim of ownership of the property at 79 Randall Avenue, contrary to Section 363 and punishable under Section 364 of the Penal Code, Laws of the FCT, Abuja.

The third count alleges that Ozekhome dishonestly used the same false passport to substantiate the ownership claim, knowing the document was false, contrary to Section 366 and punishable under Section 364 of the Penal Code.

The case follows a petition to the ICPC by the head of the Human and Environmental Development Agenda, Mr. Olanrewaju Suraj.

The petition referenced a British court judgment that accused 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.

The ICPC stated that it launched an investigation after a London property tribunal issued a judgment implicating Ozekhome and others in a web of fraud and forged documents.

Culled from punch