A federal high court in Abuja has granted final forfeiture of a London property linked to the late Jeremiah Useni, the late former minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), to the federal government.
While ruling on Tuesday, Binta Nyako, the presiding judge,
held that the suit brought by the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) was meritorious.
In the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2333/2025, the CCB, through
its counsel Sufyan Ahmad, told the court that the property sought to be
forfeited, located at No. 79, Randall Avenue, Neasden, London NW2 7SX, is
reasonably suspected to have been acquired with proceeds of unlawful
activities.
On November 28, Nyako granted the interim forfeiture order
and directed the CCB to publish it in a national newspaper within 14 days,
inviting “any person or body” with an interest in the property to come forward
and establish lawful ownership.
The prosecuting counsel told the court that the order had
been complied with.
According to him, no person or authority – whether corporate
or otherwise – indicated interest and/or filed any process contesting why the
property should not be forfeited to the federal government.
The lawyer prayed the court to grant their relief.
In an affidavit supporting the motion for final forfeiture,
Raji Rasaq, a CCB investigator, said a United Kingdom (UK) tribunal had already
ruled in suit REF/2023/0155 that the late Useni was the true owner of the
property, having acquired it through a fictitious name.
Rasaq said the property was purchased while the deceased was
in public office, with circumstances suggesting it was funded with proceeds of
unlawful activity.
He added that the CCB obtained remuneration data for
political, public and judicial office holders from the Revenue Mobilisation,
Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) to assess Useni’s net worth while in
service.
According to him, a net worth analysis by the CCB’s
financial investigation and forensic accounting unit (FIFAU), based on the
RMAFC salary structure, showed that Useni’s declared income was insufficient to
fund the acquisition of the property.
“That there is a substantial unexplained funds gap
indicating that funds used for the acquisition must have come from other,
undisclosed or undeclared sources,” he quoted the affidavits.
“That this gap constitutes a strong circumstantial indicator
of potential fraud/unreported income or illicit accumulation of wealth.
“That, accordingly, the means of acquisition of the London
property constitute proceeds of unlawful activity.”
BACKGROUND
The disputed property is located at 79 Randall Avenue,
London NW2 7SX.
Named in the property dispute are Mike Ozekhome, a senior
advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and the late Useni, a retired lieutenant-general.
The matter was filed at the First-tier Tribunal (Property
Chamber) Land Registration, UK, under case number REF/2023/0155, with Tali
Shani as the applicant and Ozekhome as the respondent.
The property had been claimed by one “Ms Tali Shani” on one
hand and Ozekhome on the other.
Ozekhome said he received the house as a gift from “Mr Tali
Shani” in 2021, while lawyers for “Ms Shani” insisted she was the rightful
owner.
A witness known as “Mr Tali Shani” had testified in favour
of Ozekhome, claiming that he had “powers of attorney” over the property and
had transferred the property to Ozekhome.
Mr Tali Shani asserted ownership of the property from 1993
and claimed he later appointed Useni as his property manager, describing the
late former FCT minister as an “elder friend and business partner”.
On the other hand, several documents, including an obituary
announcement, NIN card, ECOWAS passport, phone number, etc., were tendered by
witnesses of Ms Tali Shani to claim ownership of the property.
However, the tribunal found all the documents tendered for
Ms Tali Shani to be fake.
The tribunal subsequently dismissed all claims, ruling that
neither “Mr” nor “Ms” Tali Shani existed.
Useni, who died in January 2025, gave video testimony in
June 2024, confirming that he — not anyone called Tali Shani — bought the
property in 1993.
“I owned it… I bought the property… before I gave it to
someone to run… I paid the deposit… then bit by bit… I bought it… it is my
property,” he told the court.
Meanwhile, Ozekhome and Ponfa Useni, son of the late former
FCT minister, are both standing trial on a 12-count charge over allegations
bordering on forgery.
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