More Trouble for Mike Ozekhome as Nigeria Immigration Disowns Passport

Immigration Service Disowns Passport Linked to Mike Ozekhome in London Property Case

Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mike Ozekhome, is facing fresh legal trouble following revelations that a key document he presented before a London tribunal was fraudulent.

Nigerian authorities have confirmed that a passport submitted as evidence in his claim of ownership of a North London property was never legitimately issued by the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS).

Ejes Gist News reports that the development has led to criminal charges against the prominent lawyer, with the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) initiating prosecution at the Federal High Court in Abuja.

Immigration Service Declares Passport Fake

In a formal correspondence to the ICPC, the Nigeria Immigration Service stated that passport booklet number A07535463, relied upon by Ozekhome in the London property dispute, was defective and invalid.

The agency disclosed that the passport booklet had been reported stolen and was never personalised or issued to any individual.

“The said booklet was reported stolen and was never personalised. Consequently, it does not exist in the Service’s Electronic Management System, and no Certified True Copy is available,” the NIS stated in its letter.

 

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Investigators further found that personal details had been unlawfully superimposed on the booklet, describing the document as containing numerous inconsistencies that pointed to significant irregularities.

Document Earlier Accepted by UK Tribunal

The passport had earlier been admitted as genuine by Judge Ewan Paton of the UK First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) during proceedings concluded in September 2025.

At the time, the tribunal accepted the document because there was no evidence presented to contradict its authenticity.

“I do not have the evidence, or any sufficient basis, to find that this document is forged, and I do not do so,” Judge Paton stated in his ruling.

Subsequent investigations in Nigeria, however, have now contradicted that position, with the issuing authority formally declaring the document fraudulent.

ICPC Files Criminal Charges

Acting on the findings of the Nigeria Immigration Service, the ICPC filed a three-count charge against Ozekhome on January 16.

Court documents indicate that the senior lawyer is accused of:

• Receiving House 79 Randall Avenue, London, in August 2021 through what prosecutors describe as corrupt means;
• Making a false document, namely a Nigerian passport bearing number A07535463 in the name of Mr Shani Tali;
• Dishonestly using the said passport as genuine in support of his property ownership claim.

The case is being prosecuted by Ngozi Onwuka of the ICPC High Profile Prosecution Department.

Background of the Property Dispute

The controversy dates back to August 2021 when Ozekhome applied to transfer ownership of a property located at 79 Randall Avenue, Neasden, London, into his name.

He claimed the house was gifted to him by a man identified as Tali Shani as appreciation for legal services he rendered.

Ozekhome told the London tribunal that he was introduced to Shani in January 2019 and later provided advisory and court-related services, after which the property was transferred to him without monetary payment.

He described the transfer as gratuitous and insisted that the value of his professional services exceeded the worth of the property.

The senior lawyer, however, declined to produce documentation of the alleged services, citing client confidentiality.

Ownership Claim Challenged

The transfer application was opposed in September 2022 by solicitors acting on behalf of a woman identified as Ms. Tali Shani, who maintained she had been the registered owner of the property since 1993.

She told the tribunal that she never authorised any transfer and did not sign any document relinquishing ownership.

The case also involved late retired General Jeremiah Useni, a former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory under the administration of Sani Abacha.

In testimony given before his death in January 2025, General Useni informed the tribunal that he purchased the property in 1993.

“I owned it. I bought the property. It is my property,” he stated during the proceedings.

Tribunal Rejects Ownership Transfer

The UK tribunal eventually ruled that the 1993 purchase had been made using a false identity and rejected Ozekhome’s account of how he acquired the property.

Judge Paton described the claim as a “contrived story” and concluded that the individual known as Shani had no legal title to transfer to Ozekhome.

The tribunal further ruled that ownership of the property would rest with whoever eventually secures probate over General Useni’s English estate.

With Nigerian authorities now formally disowning the passport used in the proceedings, the legal challenges facing the senior advocate have intensified, opening a new chapter in the long-running international property dispute.