The Federal Government of Nigeria has filed a 12-count charge against Mike Ozekhome, SAN, and Ponfa Useni, also known as Tali Shani, over alleged UK property fraud, forgery, conspiracy, and impersonation.

The fresh charges, filed before the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, accuse the defendants of unlawfully attempting to control a property located at No. 79 Randall Avenue, London NW2.

According to the prosecution, led by the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, Rotimi Oyedepo, the defendants allegedly conspired in 2020 to procure a false Nigerian International Passport bearing No. A07535463 in the name “Tali Shani.”

The document was reportedly intended to support a claim to the London property.
The charge further alleges that the passport was forged between May 2020 and 2021, in violation of several provisions of the Penal Code Law 2009.

Prosecutors claim the defendants later used the document as genuine between 2023 and 2025 to facilitate the property claim.

The late former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Jeremiah Useni, was named in multiple counts as an alleged co-conspirator.

Counts in the charge accuse him of false personation and cheating by impersonation, including allegedly presenting himself as “Tali Shani” to execute an irrevocable Power of Attorney tied to the disputed property.

Ozekhome was specifically accused of abetting impersonation and having control of the London property, as well as £18,000 in rent allegedly derived from it. Investigators claim the funds were reasonably suspected to have been unlawfully obtained.

The defendants are currently in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, while the FCT High Court is expected to fix a date for arraignment.

Earlier, the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation withdrew three previous charges to conduct a comprehensive review of the case under constitutional powers granted by Section 174.