Court orders final forfeiture of UK property linked to ex-FCT minister to FG

By Ikechukwu Nnochiri

ABUJA—The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, on Tuesday, ordered the final forfeiture of a disputed property in the United Kingdom (UK) linked to a former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), the late Gen. Jeremiah Useni (rtd.).

In a ruling delivered by Justice Binta Nyako, the court ordered that the property at No. 79 Randall Avenue, Neasden, London NW2 7SX, be permanently forfeited to the federal government.

The forfeiture order followed an application brought before the court by the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB).

In the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2333/2025, the CCB cited the Administrators of the Estate of the late Gen. Useni, the Executors of the Estate of the late Gen. Useni, and the Property at No. 79 Randall Avenue, Neasden, London NW2 7SX as the 1st to 3rd respondents, respectively.

The Bureau, through its team of lawyers led by Mr. Sufyan Ahmad, told the court that the property was reasonably suspected to have been acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities.

The CCB maintained that Sections 7, 17, 19, and 67 of the Proceeds of Crime (Recovery and Management) Act 2022, and Sections 6 and 44 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), empowered the court to issue the final forfeiture order at its discretion.

It noted that the court had granted an interim preservation order for the property on November 28, 2025, and directed that the order be published for any interested party to show cause why it should not be forfeited to the federal government.

Counsel for the CCB told the court that the order had been complied with, including a newspaper publication on March 4.

In her ruling, Justice Nyako held that the final forfeiture application was meritorious and deserved to be granted.

It will be recalled that proceedings in the matter were stalled on January 26 due to the CCB’s inability to effect proper service of the application on the respondents.

The court had insisted that the processes be served on the family of the late former FCT Minister.

In an affidavit filed in support of the motion on notice for final forfeiture, the CCB disclosed that no one had come forward to claim the property after the publication, as directed by the court.

An investigator at the Bureau, Raji Rasaq, who deposed to the affidavit, averred that the First-Tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) of the United Kingdom, in suit REF/2023/0155, had delivered judgment confirming that the late Useni was the true owner of the property, having purchased it under a fictitious name.

He added that the UK court’s judgment further established that the alias used was intended to conceal the identity of the beneficial owner and suppress official documentation.

According to the deponent, the deceased acquired the property during his tenure in public office, and the circumstances strongly indicated that the funds used came from unlawful activity.

He said the CCB had obtained the remuneration package for political, public, and judicial officers from the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC)—the government agency responsible for determining such remuneration—for a net worth analysis of the deceased while in service.

Rasaq told the court that a net worth analysis conducted by the Financial Investigation and Forensic Accounting Unit (FIFAU) of the CCB, using the salary scale for political, public, and judicial officers as provided by the RMAFC, found that the deceased’s declared income at the time was grossly insufficient to account for the acquisition of the property.

He said: “That there is a substantial ‘unexplained funds’ gap, indicating that the funds used for the acquisition must have come from other, undisclosed or undeclared sources.

“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 constitutes proceeds of unlawful activity.”

Furthermore, the CCB investigator said his office was in possession of an asset declaration form filled and submitted by the deceased, in which he declared ownership of the property despite purchasing it under a fictitious name.

The CCB said there were reasonable grounds to believe the property constituted proceeds of unlawful activity, as indicated by the FIFAU analysis.

The Bureau argued that it would be in the overriding interest of justice for the court to grant a final forfeiture order for the property in favor of the federal government.

It also linked a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN), to the legal dispute over the UK property.

The case, filed at the First-Tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) Land Registration, UK, under case number REF/2023/0155, listed 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 claimed he received the house as a gift from “Mr. Tali Shani” in 2021, while lawyers for “Ms. Shani” insisted she was the rightful owner.

In the course of the proceedings, a witness known as “Mr. Tali Shani” testified in favor of Ozekhome, claiming he held “powers of attorney” over the property and had transferred it to the respondent (Ozekhome).

Mr. Tali Shani asserted ownership of the property from 1993 and claimed he later appointed Useni as his property manager, describing Useni as an “elder friend and business partner.”

Several documents, including an obituary announcement, NIN card, ECOWAS passport, and phone number, were tendered by witnesses for Ms. Tali Shani to claim ownership of the property. However, the tribunal found all the tendered documents to be fake.

The tribunal subsequently dismissed all claims, ruling that neither “Mr.” nor “Ms.” Tali Shani existed.

The federal government has since filed a charge against Ozekhome, SAN, over the alleged fraud, insisting that most of the documents tendered before the UK court were bogus.

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