The Federal Government, on Tuesday, filed a fresh 12-count charge against a prominent lawyer, Chief Mike Ozekhome, SAN, following his alleged complicity in a web of fraud perpetrated in a bid to claim ownership of a disputed property in the United Kingdom
Specifically, Ozekhome, in the charge that was entered before the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, was slammed with allegations of forgery and abetment of an offence.
FG alleged that sometime in 2020, he agreed with one Ponfa Useni (aka Tali Shani) and General Jeremiah Useni (now deceased) to commit an illegal act by making a false Nigerian International Passport No. A07535463 with the name Tali Shani.
It was alleged that the defendant claimed the forged passport was issued by the Nigeria Immigration Service “with the intent of using the same to support your claim of a property, lying, being, and situate at No. 79 Randall Avenue, London NW2, United Kingdom, and you thereby committed an offence contrary to section 96 of the Penal Code Law 2009 and punishable under section 364 of the same Law.”
According to the charge, Ozekhome further abetted the commission of an offence of cheating by personation when he jointly executed an irrevocable power of attorney dated May 30, 2020, with one Tali Shani, “a fictitious person,” to facilitate the claim of the UK property, and thereby committed an offence contrary to sections 83, 84, 321 of the Penal Code Law, 2009, and punishable under section 322 of the same Law.
While Count 9 of the charge alleged that he took control of the UK property, which is reasonably suspected to have been unlawfully obtained by General Jeremiah Useni (now deceased) under the fictitious name Tali Shani, he was, in Count 10, alleged to have, within the period, collected the sum of £18,000.00 as rent that accrued from the property.
Useni, who was said to have falsely personated a fictitious person (Tali Shani), was cited as the 2nd defendant in the charge that was signed by the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, Mr. Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN.
The charge came hours after the high court struck out a three-count charge the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) earlier filed against the senior lawyer.
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