Woman declared dead wins High Court fight for Plumstead home

June Ashimola, 55, bought the property on Warland Road in 2003 then left it behind when she returned to Nigeria in 2018. 

It was claimed that she then died in February 2019 and that subsequent sightings of Ms Ashimola since her death were actually a woman “masquerading” as her. 

Her £347,000 home then fell to Bakare Olatoye Lasisi, who said he married Ms Ashimola in 1993, and Ruth Samuel, who holds a power of attorney over Mr Lasisi. 

But following an extraordinary case Deputy Master John Linwood, sitting at the High Court, ruled that Ms Ashimola is alive and that a “false and fraudulent” death certificate had been produced. 

June Ashimola produced a recently expired passport to convince a judge she was still alive (Image: Court documents) Ms Ashimola had given evidence by videolink from Nigeria and although her testimony was “unsatisfactory” in part due to the quality of the call, she was able to show her recently-expired Nigerian passport which convinced the judge that she was who she said she was. 

The judge also found that Ms Ashimola’s marriage in 1993 was a work of fiction and that Mr Lasisi did not even exist. 

The judge identified convicted fraudster Tony Ashikodi “orchestrated” the scheme – Ashikodi was jailed for three years in 1996 for conspiring to and/or obtaining property by deception. 

Ashikodi’s own sister, Justina, told the court: “Over the years of this hoo haa he has brought in a lot of forged documents…Tony can forge anything from Nigeria. Tony can bring anything.” 

The argued centred around June Ashimola’s property on Warland Road, Plumstead (Image: Google Maps) The judge ruled: “I find Ms Ashimola is alive and that the Death Certificate was forged and/or fraudulently obtained or produced or concocted. 

“Her alleged death was part of Mr Tony Ashikodi’s attempts to wrest control of the property.” 

He added: “I do not accept Mr Lasisi exists or if he does is aware of his identity being used. I do not accept that emails supposedly from him were actually from him.” 

The judge overturned Letters of Administration which had handed Ms Ashimola’s estate to Ms Samuel in 2022.