Maitama, Abuja, Nigeria – The High Court sitting in Maitama, the Federal Capital Territory has struck out the forgery charge filed against Mike Ozekhome, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, following the withdrawal of the case by the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF).
The three-count charge seen by Okay News was initially filed on January 16 by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), alleging that Ozekhome presented forged documents, including a Nigerian international passport, in support of a property claim in the United Kingdom. The AGF’s office took over the prosecution on January 26.
At the resumed hearing scheduled for Ozekhome’s arraignment, Rotimi Oyedepo, counsel to the AGF, informed the court that the federal government was applying to withdraw the charge to allow for a review and consolidation of issues involving different investigating agencies. He said the move would strengthen the case.
Justice Peter Kekemeke subsequently struck out the suit.
The allegations stemmed from a dispute over ownership of a property located at 79 Randall Avenue, London NW2 7SX, which was the subject of proceedings before the UK First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber). Ozekhome had claimed he received the property as a gift from an individual identified as ‘Mr Tali Shani’, while another claimant, ‘Ms Tali Shani’, also laid claim to it.
The tribunal later ruled that neither “Mr” nor “Ms” Tali Shani existed and determined that the true owner of the property, operating under a false name, was the late retired Lieutenant-General Jeremiah Useni.
