A court case that began as a seemingly routine attempt to change the ownership of a house in north London has exposed an ‘extraordinary’ alleged fraud entangling a string of high-profile Nigerians.
The suit was filed by a ‘Ms Tali Shani’ to contest a 2023 bid by Chief Mike Agbedor Abu Ozekhome – a prominent barrister and human rights activist – to have the ownership of 79 Randall Avenue in Neasden transferred to him.
Judge Ewan Paton, sitting at the first-tier property chamber tribunal, has now ruled that neither ‘Ms Tali Shani’ nor Chief Ozekhome could prove they have a right to the semi-detached house.
Instead, he found the real owner was Jeremiah Useni, a retired lieutenant-general and former government minister who died in January while the court case was still underway.
Judge Paton also concluded that ‘Ms Tali Shani’ never really existed and identity documents presented in the case had been faked.
In his judgment, he described how a seemingly straightforward application to change the ownership record ‘generated proceedings of a quite extraordinary nature’.
‘At their heart are mutual allegations of identity fraud by impersonation,’ he wrote. ‘These in turn generated multiple allegations of forgery of documents, fraud, conspiracy and corruption of public officials.’
The case began in February 2023 with Chief Ozekhome’s application to the Land Registry to have ownership of the house transferred to him.
Jeremiah Useni a retired Nigerian lieutenant-general and former government minister who died in January
Chief Mike Agbedor Abu Ozekhome is a prominent barrister and human rights activist
The three-bedroom property was last sold for £110,000 in 1993, when it was registered as belonging to ‘Tali Shani’. It is now believed to be worth around £650,000.
In his 2023 application, Chief Ozekhome said he had given him the house as a gift ‘out of gratitude’ for his legal services.
A person calling himself ‘Mr Tali Shani’ backed up this account, telling the tribunal he had indeed been the owner of the property before appointing General Useni to manage it for him.
However, solicitors for a ‘Ms Tali Shani’ had already objected to the transfer – insisting ‘she’ was the true owner of the house.
Effectively, both ‘Mr’ and ‘Ms’ Tali Shani – one male and the other female – were claiming ownership of the same property.
A major focus of the case was the identity of ‘Ms Tali Shani’, who never appeared before the tribunal despite multiple adjournments.
Kingsley Efemuai, a solicitor based in Bromley, told the tribunal that ‘Ms Tali Shani’ had been hospitalised.
He later told the tribunal that she had died and her son, Ayodele Damola, would represent her interests.
Mr Damola gave a witness statement in which he claimed his mother had been in a relationship with General Useni when he was married – and presented documents which he claimed proved she had died in a road accident in October 2024.
Another witness, Anukwe Marcel Obasi, claimed to be a cousin of ‘Ms Tali Shani’ and told the tribunal she had been involved in a ‘very long affair’ with Useni.
The row centered around a house on Randall Avenue in Neasden (pictured)
An identity document for a ‘Ms Tali Shani’, which a judge has found was a fictitious person
However, a Nigerian government official told the tribunal that the documents had been forged and the claimed home address of ‘Ms Tali Shani’ did not exist.
Before his death in January, General Useni said in evidence via video link that he had bought the home in Neasden for his family and denied ever being in a relationship with anyone called ‘Ms Tali Shani’.
Significantly, the tribunal heard that a judge in Jersey had previously ordered the forfeiture of £1.9million held by General Useni in four bank accounts after ruling that the money was the proceeds of ‘unlawful conduct’.
The money was held in accounts with the name ‘Tim Shani’.
Giving his ruling, Judge Paton concluded that ‘Ms Tali Shani’ was a fictitious character and the documents that had been used to confirm her identity were fraudulent.
By contrast, he found Mr Tali Shani does exist, but found it ‘implausible’ that he could have been the buyer of 79 Randall Avenue in 1993 – when he was a 20-year-old cattle herder. He said the real owner had been General Useni.
The judge said the evidence of Chief Ozekhome and Mr Tali Shani that the house had been transferred for free was ‘invention or contrivance’ to avoid paying stamp duty but there was no suggestion he had tried to steal the house.
He said he did not know for certain why General Useni had agreed to transfer the house to Chief Ozekhome, but said it was most likely ‘in satisfaction of some debt or favour owed’.
A Nigerian government official told the tribunal that the documents had been forged and the claimed home address of ‘Ms Tali Shani’ did not exist
A celebration of life for the ‘fictitious’ Ms Tali Shani
The judge said it was not possible to say when General Useni came across Mr Tali Shani. He found it was a possibility Mr Tali Shani had a different birth name before he was persuaded to become ‘Mr Tali Shani’ to help General Useni transfer assets.
Judge Paton ordered the Land Registry to reject the application to register the transfer of the Neasden house and said that the property was now part of General Useni’s estate.
He said the ‘most disappointing and disturbing aspect’ of the case relates to the solicitor Kingsley Efemuai – who is registered to practice in England and Wales.
He said it was not possible to find he had ‘acted dishonestly and is actively complicit in what appears to be a calculated attempted fraud orchestrated by others’ but he is ‘guilty of the most astonishing complacency and credulity in his conduct of these proceedings’.
The Daily Mail has contacted Mr Efemuai for comment.
