Court orders forfeiture of London property linked to Useni, Ozekhome

The Federal High Court in Abuja, on Tuesday, ordered the final forfeiture of a property in the United Kingdom linked to a former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Jeremiah Useni, to the Federal Government.

Justice Binta Nyako, who delivered the judgment, held that the property, located at 79 Randall Avenue, Neasden, London, was reasonably suspected to have been acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities.

The forfeiture followed a motion filed by the Code of Conduct Bureau, which urged the court to grant a final order after no interested party came forward to contest an earlier interim forfeiture.

The court had, in a previous ruling, directed that the interim order be published in a national newspaper to allow any person with an interest in the property to appear and show cause why it should not be permanently forfeited to the government.

However, at the resumed hearing, counsel for the bureau informed the court that no application was filed by any individual or entity to challenge the interim forfeiture.

Justice Nyako, in her ruling, held that the application was meritorious and consequently granted the final forfeiture order.

The judge also relied on findings from a United Kingdom tribunal, which reportedly established that the property was acquired using a fictitious identity.

According to the tribunal, the name “Tali Shani,” initially presented as the owner of the property, was found to be non-existent, with evidence linking the asset to Useni.

The bureau further submitted that an analysis of Useni’s declared earnings, based on remuneration data from the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission, showed a significant discrepancy between his legitimate income and the value of the property.

It argued that the disparity supported the conclusion that the asset could not have been lawfully acquired.

The property has also featured in a separate dispute involving a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mike Ozekhome, who had claimed that it was gifted to him by the said “Tali Shani.”

However, the UK tribunal’s findings cast doubt on the existence of the purported donor.

With the final forfeiture order, ownership of the property now vests permanently in the Federal Government.