Probate revoked following “dead” woman’s court appearance

The High Court has revoked a grant of probate after it decided a woman who had been reported dead is, in fact, still alive.

June Ashimola, who was born in Nigeria and lived for a time in Plumstead, southeast London, was declared dead in 2019 based on a forged Nigerian death certificate.

Probate was then granted to Tony Ashikodi and Ruth Samuel, who claimed to be acting as attorneys for Bakare Lasisi, a man they said was the husband of Ms Ashimola.

However, the court heard there was no evidence that Mr Lasisi, if such a person existed, had ever been married to Ms Ashimola, while Mr Ashikodi not only had a “cavalier disregard for the truth” but had also served a three-year gaol term in the 1990s for obtaining property by deception.

Stating that it was clear that the latter had “orchestrated” the claim in a bid to secure a house in London owned by Ms Ashimola, Judge John Linwood added this was an “unusual probate claim in that the deceased says she is very much alive”.

Ms Ashimola was unable to attend the High Court in person because of visa restrictions, but she did appear via video link.

She explained that she had been living in Nigeria since October 2018 and produced both her recently expired Nigerian passport and a certified copy of her current passport as evidence. She also stated that the death certificate and marriage certificate produced by Mr Ashikodi had both been forged, while the probate power of attorney was fraudulent.

Judge Linwood ruled in Ms Ashimola’s favour, based on her resemblance to the passport photographs, the consistency of her testimony and statements from witnesses who had seen her recently in Nigeria.

He added there was no evidence of a genuine marriage to Mr Lasisi, highlighting the latter’s failure to participate in the court proceedings, and the grant of probate was revoked as having been obtained using “false, forged or concocted” documents.