UK court throws out bid to transfer London property belonging to Jeremiah Useni to Mike Ozekhome, others

A United Kingdom property tribunal has dismissed an attempt to transfer ownership of a North London property linked to the late Nigerian military officer and politician, General Jeremiah Useni.

The tribunal found that the claims, which sought to vest ownership in Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Mike Ozekhome, along with other individuals, were built on false identities and forged documents.

The property, situated at 79 Randall Avenue, Neasden, London NW2 7SX, and registered under the name “Tali Shani” with title number MX117803, was bought in 1993. Evidence presented to the tribunal revealed that Mr. Useni, a former FCT minister and an ally of the late dictator Sani Abacha, was the actual purchaser of the property.

Mr Useni later admitted in oral testimony that he acquired the house with his own funds but registered it under the fabricated name ‘Tali Shani’. The former FCT minister, who served under Mr Abacha, never explained why the home was not recorded under his true identity.

In 2021, a transfer document surfaced suggesting the property had been conveyed to Mr Ozekhome.

The lawyer argued that Mr Useni, acting through the alias Tali Shani, had passed the house to him either as a gift or in recognition of legal services he claimed to have rendered. Based on that document and the accompanying powers of attorney signed in 2019 and 2020, Mr Ozekhome requested that both the tribunal and the chief land registrar register him as the new owner.

Mr Ozekhome could have successfully got the transfer of ownership to his name done, but a dispute escalated when, in 2022, a woman presenting herself as ‘Ms Tali Shani’ challenged the transfer. The woman asserted that she was the rightful owner of the house and insisted that she had never authorised its conveyance.

At one point, the woman was reported to have died in October 2024, only for her supposed son, Ayodele Damola, and cousin, Marcel Obasi, to continue pressing the case on her behalf.

However, in its judgment delivered on September 11, 2025, the tribunal rejected her account entirely.

Judge Ewan Paton stated that the materials she relied on, including identity papers, utility bills, and even a death certificate later produced by supposed relatives, were riddled with inconsistencies and, in many cases, outright forgeries. Investigations carried out by Nigeria’s National Identity Management Commission and the police confirmed the documents were fabricated, with addresses and identification numbers traced to non-existent or unrelated persons.

The judge described testimony given by individuals claiming to be her relatives as “wholly unconvincing, dishonest and at times almost comical”, concluding that both the supposed female owner and the male ‘Tali Shani’ cited by Mr Ozekhome were fictitious identities.

While dismissing the rival objection, the tribunal also refused to recognise Mr Ozekhome’s claim. It ruled that since Mr Useni (who died on January 23, 2025) was the genuine buyer, albeit using a false name, the property now belongs to his estate following his death earlier this year (2025).

“The final outcome of this case, therefore, is that both parties have failed,” the judge said. “Neither ‘Tali Shani’ was who they said they were, and neither was the person who purchased this property in 1993. The real owner, via a false name, was General Jeremiah Useni.”

The tribunal ordered the chief land registrar to cancel Mr Ozekhome’s attempted registration and made clear that it will be up to Mr Useni’s lawful estate representatives to decide what steps to take regarding the London house.

“This is a decision made in public proceedings, which shall be published,” Mr Paton stated, leaving open the possibility of further action by British or Nigerian authorities in relation to the frauds uncovered.