Ms June Ashimola, victim of fraud.
By Denis Wise
Miss June Ashimola, a Nigerian woman who was falsely declared dead has appeared in court via videolink from Nigeria to stop a convicted fraudster from seizing her £350,000 London home.
According to Mail Online, it was claimed that Ashimola, 55, died in February 2019 in her native country, which sparked a bizarre long-running battle for her estate.
But she appeared before High Court judge John Linwood to declare that she was very much alive and was a victim of a scam.
The court was told Ms Ashimola had brought the case after being falsely declared dead.
The Power of Attorney over her estate, which consisted principally of a house, was granted to the associates of a convicted fraudster, Tony Ashikodi.
Ashimola had left Britain for Nigeria in 2018 and had not returned, the court heard.
In Oct. 2022, the power of attorney over the estate was given to Ms Ruth Samuel on behalf of Mr Bakare Lasisi, who claimed he married Ms Ashimola in 1993.
But the judge ruled Ms Ashimola had been the victim of fraud and that Mr Lasisi did not even exist.
It was claimed that Ashimola died in Nigeria in 2019 without leaving a will with a copy of her alleged death certificate being produced at the High Court.
Claims were made that sightings of Ashimola since her alleged death were actually a woman ‘masquerading’ as her.
But Ashimola told the court she was only ‘allegedly deceased’, that the certificate was ‘false and fraudulent.’
She also said that the the grant relating to her estate and a house in Woolwich, south east London, had been ‘improperly’ obtained.
“This is an unusual probate claim in that the deceased says she is very much alive.
“The root of this claim is a long running battle or campaign waged by a Mr Tony Ashikodi for control and/or ownership of the Property.
“Ms Ashimola left the UK for Nigeria in about October 2018 and has not returned since.
“This claim involves wide-ranging allegations of fraud, forgery, impersonation and intimidation,” Deputy Master Linwood said.
