Attorney-General Withdraws Forgery Charges Against Senior Advocate Mike Ozekhome
Nigeria’s Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, has formally withdrawn a three-count forgery charge against prominent constitutional lawyer Professor Mike Ozekhome, SAN. The decision, announced in court on Tuesday, ends a high-profile prosecution initiated by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
The case, heard before Justice Peter Kekemeke of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Abuja, stemmed from allegations that Ozekhome forged documents related to a London property. Initially, the ICPC had arraigned the Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) in January 2024 on charges including receiving a property purportedly as a gift and using a falsified Nigerian passport to assert ownership.
At the resumption of proceedings, the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation (DPPF), Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, represented the Attorney-General. He informed the court that the AGF was taking over the matter from the ICPC and subsequently applied to withdraw the charge. The application was made pursuant to Section 108 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015, which allows for withdrawal with court consent.
Oyedepo stated the withdrawal was to enable a comprehensive review of all cases pending before various investigative agencies. Counsel for Ozekhome, Paul Erokoro, SAN—who led a large legal team including over 15 other SANs—did not oppose the application. Consequently, Justice Kekemeke struck out the case.
The original charge, filed as FCT/HC/CR/010/26, contained three counts. The first alleged that Ozekhome received a house in London from one Mr. Shani Tali in August 2021. The second and third counts accused him of making and then dishonestly using a false Nigerian passport (A07535463) in the name of Shani Tali to support his claim to the same property, with intent to commit fraud. The offences were predicated on provisions of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act and the Penal Code applicable in the FCT.
This development marks a significant turn in a case that attracted widespread attention due to Ozekhome’s stature as a leading legal luminary. The withdrawal by the AGF, who now holds the prosecutorial authority, effectively halts the ICPC’s case pending his office’s broader review. No further court dates are scheduled, and the matter is now closed at this level. The action underscores the AGF’s constitutional role in overseeing criminal prosecutions across federal agencies.
