Court orders final forfeiture of Useni’s UK property

Useni UK property forfeiture ordered by Abuja court as judge rules London asset linked to ex-minister was unlawfully acquired

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

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

The Useni UK property forfeiture followed a motion filed by the Code of Conduct Bureau after no interested party came forward to challenge an earlier interim forfeiture order.

The court had previously directed that the interim order be published in a national newspaper to allow any claimant to contest the forfeiture.

However, at the resumed hearing, counsel for the bureau informed the court that no application had been filed in opposition.

In granting the final order, Justice Nyako ruled that the application was meritorious and relied in part 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 Jeremiah Useni.

The Code of Conduct Bureau further submitted that an analysis of the former minister’s declared earnings revealed a significant disparity between his legitimate income and the value of the London property.

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

The property had also been the subject of a separate dispute involving Senior Advocate of Nigeria Mike Ozekhome, who had claimed it was gifted to him by the said “Tali Shani,” a claim now cast into doubt by the tribunal’s findings.

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With the ruling, ownership of the property has been permanently transferred to the Federal Government, marking a significant development in the enforcement of asset recovery measures.

Quadri Olaitan