- An Abuja Federal High Court has ordered the permanent forfeiture of a UK property located at 79 Randall Avenue, Neasden, London, to the Federal Government.
- The property is linked to Jeremiah Useni, a former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), and was found to be acquired through “unlawful activities.”
- The court dismissed claims involving a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mike Ozekhome, after a UK tribunal revealed that the alleged “donor” of the property, one “Tali Shani,” was a fictitious identity.
The Federal High Court in Abuja, presided over by Justice Binta Nyako, has brought an end to a long-running legal battle by granting a final forfeiture order for a London asset linked to former FCT Minister Jeremiah Useni.
Eko Hot Blog reports that the ruling, delivered on Wednesday, April 1, 2026, officially transfers ownership of the property to the Nigerian Federal Government.
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The case, initiated by the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB), centered on the residence at 79 Randall Avenue, Neasden, London.
Justice Nyako held that the CCB had sufficiently proven that the asset was acquired through proceeds of crime.
The decision followed an earlier interim forfeiture order; since no individual or organization stepped forward to contest the ownership within the legally mandated window, the court made the forfeiture permanent.
A significant twist in the proceedings involved Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mike Ozekhome, who had previously asserted that the property was a gift to him from an individual named “Tali Shani.”
However, evidence presented from a United Kingdom tribunal debunked this claim, revealing that “Tali Shani” did not exist and that the property was directly tied to Useni.
Further evidence from the CCB highlighted a massive gap between Useni’s official earnings as a public servant and the market value of the London home.
Using benchmarks from the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), investigators concluded that the former Minister’s legitimate income could not have funded such an acquisition.
This ruling effectively shuts down any remaining claims to the property, marking a victory for the Federal Government’s ongoing efforts to recover assets stashed abroad.
