ICPC To Arraign Senior Lawyer Ozekhome Over Alleged UK Property Fraud Monday

The Federal Government is set to arraign a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Chief Mike Ozekhome, before the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court, Maitama, Abuja, on Monday, January 26, 2026, over alleged fraud relating to acquisition of a property in London, United Kingdom.

According to a hearing notice sighted on Wednesday, the case is scheduled to be heard in Courtroom 4 and 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 advised that any party seeking an adjournment “must apply to the court promptly and provide evidence if the application is fact-based,” adding that parties seeking to compel witness attendance were required to give “reasonable notice.”

In the charge filed on January 16, 2026, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) listed Ozekhome 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 ICPC.

Ozekhome faces three counts bordering on corruption, forgery, and fraudulent misrepresentation.

In the first count, the ICPC alleged that in August 2021 in London, the senior lawyer “directly received House 79, Randall Avenue, London NW2 7SX, purportedly given to him by one Mr. Shani Tali, knowing that 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 accused Ozekhome, while acting as a legal practitioner, of “creating a false Nigerian passport (No. A07535463) bearing the name of Mr. Shani Tali in August 2021 to support a fraudulent claim of ownership of the property at 79 Randall Avenue.”

The act, according to the charge, contravenes Section 363 and is punishable under Section 364 of the Penal Code Laws of the FCT.

In the third count, the ICPC alleged that Ozekhome “dishonestly used the same false passport to substantiate the ownership claim, knowing the document to be false,” an offence contrary to Section 366 and punishable under Section 364 of the Penal Code.

The case reportedly originated from a petition filed by Mr. Olanrewaju Suraj, head of the Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA), to the ICPC.

The petition referenced a British court judgement, which accused Ozekhome and others of conspiring with corrupt Nigerian officials to obtain fake national identity documents to “fraudulently claim ownership” of a North London property.

Following the petition, the ICPC said it opened an investigation after a London property tribunal issued a judgement implicating the Nigerian lawyer and others in what it described as “a web of fraud and forged documents.”

The arraignment on Monday is expected to formally open the trial process.