The Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA Resource Centre) has commended the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) for filing criminal charges against Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mike Ozekhome, over alleged fraud, forgery, and unlawful acquisition of a property in London.
The charges stem from a petition submitted by HEDA to the ICPC in October 2025, which relied on a judgment of a British property tribunal. The judgment reportedly implicated Ozekhome and others in a scheme involving forged Nigerian identity documents used to fraudulently claim ownership of a North London property.
Following the petition, the ICPC opened an investigation and subsequently filed a three-count charge against Ozekhome before the Federal High Court in Abuja.
In the first count, the commission alleged that in August 2021, Ozekhome directly received a property located at 79 Randall Avenue, London NW2 7SX, from one Shani Tali, knowing that the transaction constituted a felony, contrary to Sections 13 and 24 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000.
The second count accused the senior lawyer, while acting as a legal practitioner, of creating a false Nigerian passport bearing the name Shani Tali in August 2021 to support a fraudulent ownership claim over the property. The offence is said to contravene Sections 363 and 364 of the Penal Code Laws of the Federal Capital Territory.
In the third count, Ozekhome was alleged to have knowingly used the same forged passport to substantiate the ownership claim, an offence contrary to Sections 366 and 364 of the Penal Code.
Reacting to the development, HEDA’s Chairman, Olanrewaju Suraju, described the filing of charges as a significant step in the fight against corruption, noting that the case demonstrates the impact of citizen-led accountability efforts.
HEDA further urged the ICPC to ensure diligent prosecution of the case and called on the judiciary to expedite proceedings in the interest of justice. The organisation said it would closely monitor the trial as a test of Nigeria’s commitment to combating corruption and redemption of Nigeria’s image from a pariah state.
