Nigerian ‘Dead Woman’ Appears In Court To Reclaim £350,000 London Home From Fraudster

A Nigerian woman who had been falsely declared dead appeared in a UK court via video link from Nigeria to challenge a convicted fraudster’s attempt to seize her £350,000 home in London.

According to Mail Online, 55-year-old June Ashimola was reportedly pronounced dead in February 2019 in Nigeria, leading to a lengthy legal battle over her estate. However, she recently appeared before High Court Judge John Linwood, confirming she was alive and had fallen victim to an elaborate fraud.

The court heard that Ms. Ashimola filed the case after being falsely registered as deceased, which led to her estate—primarily her home in Woolwich, London—being unlawfully handed over to associates of Tony Ashikodi, a convicted fraudster.

She had left the UK for Nigeria in 2018 and had not returned since. In October 2022, Ruth Samuel was granted Power of Attorney on behalf of Bakare Lasisi, who falsely claimed he had married Ms. Ashimola in 1993. However, the judge determined that the entire claim was fraudulent and that Mr. Lasisi was a fictitious person.

A forged death certificate was submitted in court, with claims that any sightings of Ms. Ashimola were actually a woman impersonating her. But Ms. Ashimola refuted these allegations, stating that she was very much alive and that the certificate was fraudulent. She argued that her estate had been wrongfully taken over.

“This is an unusual case because the so-called deceased is standing before the court insisting she is alive,” Judge Linwood commented, noting that the matter involved serious accusations of fraud, forgery, identity theft, and intimidation.

To reach a decision, the judge needed to determine three key issues: whether Ms. Ashimola was alive, whether she was truly who she claimed to be, and whether she had ever been married to Mr. Lasisi.

Due to visa complications, Ms. Ashimola was unable to appear in person, which made some parts of her testimony less compelling. However, the judge confirmed her identity after reviewing her passport photos and declared her statements credible.

Following a hearing where Tony Ashikodi—who had previously served three years in prison for fraud in 1996—gave his testimony, the judge concluded that he had orchestrated the entire deception to mislead the court. A shocking revelation emerged: Mr. Lasisi, who supposedly married Ms. Ashimola, did not exist, despite emails claiming to be from him.

“I conclude that Ms. Ashimola is alive and that the death certificate was falsified,” the judge ruled. He also determined that the supposed marriage certificate was a fabricated document and that the Power of Attorney granted to Lasisi and Samuel was fraudulent.

“There was no verified evidence that the death certificate was legitimate. It was merely a copy with no credible origin. The individuals who relied on it—Tony Ashikodi and Ruth Samuel—were either complicit in its creation or knowingly using false information,” he added.

Given these findings, the court revoked the fraudulent Power of Attorney. However, the case had already led to massive legal expenses, with both parties accumulating more than £150,000 in fees, potentially exceeding the property’s total value.