The Federal Government has filed a fresh 12-count criminal charge against Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Mike Ozekhome and Ponfa Useni (also known as Tali Shani) over alleged involvement in forgery, conspiracy, impersonation, and related offences to claim ownership of a property in London, United Kingdom.
The charges, instituted by the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) through the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, were filed at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja. No judge has yet been assigned for arraignment.
Ozekhome, a prominent constitutional lawyer and professor, faces accusations alongside Useni (the son of the late General Jeremiah Useni) of conspiring to forge a Nigerian international passport (No. A07535463) in the name of the purported “Tali Shani,” falsely claiming it was issued by the Nigeria Immigration Service. The alleged intent was to use the document to support a claim to a property at No. 79 Randall Avenue, London NW2, United Kingdom.
Other allegations include jointly executing an irrevocable Power of Attorney dated May 30, 2020, with the fictitious “Tali Shani” to facilitate the property claim. Useni separately faces counts of impersonation and cheating by personation in connection with the same property, said to have originally been linked to his late father.
The offences are cited as contrary to various sections of the Penal Code Law 2009 (including Sections 96, 364, 83, 84, 321, and 322, among others).
This development comes less than 24 hours after the AGF withdrew an earlier three-count forgery charge filed against Ozekhome by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), which was subsequently struck out by the FCT High Court.
