NIS Confirms Ozekhome Forged Letter in UK Property Fraud Case
Prominent Nigerian lawyer Mike Ozekhome allegedly submitted a forged Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) letter to a London tribunal to claim ownership of a North London property, PREMIUM TIMES can reveal. The letter, purportedly from an NIS Assistant Legal Adviser confirming the authenticity of a "Tali Shani" passport (A07535463), was pivotal in a September 2025 UK court ruling that initially lent credibility to Ozekhome’s claim. The NIS has now confirmed the letter is fake—stating no officer named Abdulkadir Lawal exists in its service—and that the passport was never legitimately issued, having been reported stolen and unlawfully altered.
This case exposes systemic vulnerabilities in Nigeria’s identity management systems, with allegations that corrupt officials at NIMC, Immigration, and FIRS generated fraudulent documents. The disputed property—79 Randall Avenue—was actually purchased in 1993 by the late General Jeremiah Useni using a false identity ("Philips Bincan"), as previously found by a Jersey court. Ozekhome’s claim that the property was gifted to him by "Tali Shani" in 2021 was rejected by the UK tribunal as a "contrived story." The defendants are also accused of receiving £18,000 in rent from the property.
Ozekhome faces parallel criminal charges: ICPC prosecutes him for receiving stolen property and forgery, while EFCC charges him and co-defendant Ponfa Useni on 12 counts including passport falsification. Both cases are pending with bail set at N10 million. Meanwhile, Nigeria’s Code of Conduct Bureau secured a forfeiture order for the property after no legitimate claimants emerged. This unfolding scandal raises critical questions: How deep do forged identity networks go within Nigerian agencies? Should ordinary citizens routinely verify their official documents? And what mechanisms exist to recover assets acquired through such elaborate identity fraud?