The Federal Government has filed criminal charges against a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Prof. Mike Ozekhome, over alleged forgery and use of false documents linked to a disputed property in the United Kingdom.
Court documents show that a three count charge, marked FCT/HC/CR/010/2026, was filed before the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, on behalf of the Attorney General of the Federation by officials of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission.
Ozekhome, a prominent constitutional lawyer and human rights advocate, is accused of presenting forged documents, including a Nigerian international passport, during proceedings before the London First Tier Tribunal to support a claim of ownership of a property located at 79 Randall Avenue, London.
According to the charge, the alleged offences were committed in August 2021, partly in Abuja and during proceedings outside Nigeria.
The prosecution alleged that the senior lawyer knowingly used false documents and provided misleading information to a public authority in a bid to establish ownership of the property.
The charges include making a false document, using a forged passport as genuine and attempting to deceive a public institution, offences said to be punishable under relevant provisions of the Penal Code and the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act.
To support its case, the Federal Government listed several witnesses, including investigators and a representative of the Nigerian Immigration Service.
The prosecution also plans to tender documents such as tribunal judgments, official correspondence, statements and passport records as exhibits.
As of Sunday, the Chief Judge of the FCT High Court had yet to assign the case to a judge for the formal arraignment of the defendant.
