ICPC has filed criminal charges against Mike Ozekhome SAN over a controversial London property deal. Why the case is bigger than a house is raising serious questions. Click to read full story.
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has filed criminal charges against renowned constitutional lawyer, Mike Ozekhome, SAN, in a case that is already sending shockwaves through Nigeria’s legal and political space.
The charges, filed on January 16, 2026, at the Abuja High Court, centre on alleged fraud and document falsification linked to a prime property in London, identified as House 79, Randall Avenue, London NW2 7SX.
The development marks one of the rare occasions a Senior Advocate of Nigeria is being prosecuted in relation to an international property transaction, raising serious questions about accountability among the country’s elite.
In the three-count charge, marked FCT/HC/CR/010/26, the ICPC accused Ozekhome, 68, of directly receiving the London property in August 2021 from one Mr Shani Tali, an act the commission said constitutes a felony under the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000.
According to the anti-corruption agency, the transaction was allegedly part of a larger corruption scheme, placing the senior lawyer at the centre of a high-profile investigation that has now reached the prosecution stage.
In a more damaging allegation, ICPC accused Ozekhome of creating a false Nigerian passport bearing the name of Shani Tali, which the commission said was used to support ownership claims over the disputed London property.
The agency further alleged that the senior lawyer knowingly used the false document as genuine, an offence punishable under relevant sections of the Penal Code of the Federal Capital Territory.
These allegations form the backbone of counts two and three of the charge, with prosecutors insisting that the documents were deliberately created and deployed to mislead authorities.
To back its case, ICPC attached a long list of exhibits, including:
A judgment dated September 11, 2025
Interim forfeiture proceedings on the London property
An extra-judicial statement by Ozekhome dated January 12, 2026
Passport data pages
Correspondence linked to the transaction
The commission also lined up multiple witnesses, including ICPC investigators and a representative of the Nigerian Immigration Service, expected to testify on the authenticity of the documents and travel records involved.
Legal observers say the prosecution is significant because it touches on international assets, document integrity, and the accountability of elite professionals in Nigeria’s justice system.
As of the time of filing this report, the case has not yet been assigned to a judge, but the charges alone have ignited intense debate across legal, political, and civil society circles.
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