June Ashimola & Anor v Ruth Samuel & Anor
| Judge | DEPUTY MASTER LINWOOD |
| Neutral Citation | [2025] EWHC 502 (Ch) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Court | Chancery Division |
| Counsel | Dr Arun Kasi,Second Claimant |
| Date | 10 March 2025 |
Neutral Citation Number: [2025] EWHC 502 (Ch)
Case No: PT-2024-000169
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE
BUSINESS AND PROPERTY COURTS OF ENGLAND & WALES
PROPERTY, TRUSTS AND PROBATE LIST (ChD)
The Rolls Building
7 Rolls Buildings,
Fetter Lane London, WC2A 2LL
Date: 10/03/2025
Before :
DEPUTY MASTER LINWOOD
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Between :
JUNE ASHIMOLA (1)
WASIU SHOMOTUN (2)
Claimants
- and –
RUTH SAMUEL (1)
BAKARE OLATOYE LASISI (2)
Defendants
Dr Arun Kasi (instructed by HM & Co Solicitors) for the Claimants (27th-29th November
2024 only). The Second Claimant appeared on behalf of himself on the 5th February 2025, when
the First Claimant did not appear and was not represented.
Mr O Aniere Ebuzoeme (Solicitor-Advocate) of A. Vincent Solicitors Ltd for the
Defendants
Hearing dates: 27th, 28th and 29th November 2024 and 5th February 2025.
Claimants’ Closing and further submissions: 6th February and 5th March 2025
Defendants’ Closing and further submissions: 7th February and 5thMarch 2025.
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Approved Judgment
I direct that pursuant to CPR PD 39A para 6.1 no official shorthand note shall be taken of this
Judgment and that copies of this version as handed down may be treated as authentic.
.............................
DEPUTY MASTER LINWOOD
This judgment was handed down remotely by circulation to the parties’ representatives by
email and release to the National Archives at 11.00 am on 10th March 2025.
DEPUTY MASTER LINWOOD
Approved Judgment
Double-click to enter the short title
Deputy Master Linwood:
1.This is an unusual probate claim in that the deceased says she is very much alive. In
essence, D1, Ms Ruth Samuel, holds a probate power of attorney in Form PA12 for
D2, Mr Bakare Olatoye Lasisi, who says he married C1, Ms June Ashimola, in 1993.
They say Ms Ashimola died in Nigeria on 6th February 2019, intestate. A grant of
Letters of Administration (“the Grant”) to her Estate was issued to Ms Samuel as Mr
Lasisi’s attorney, on 18th October 2022, with a gross value stated at £347,000 gross
and £172,000 net.
2.The only asset of the Estate appears to be a house at 3 Warland Road London SE18
2EX (“the Property”). This was purchased by Ms Ashimola in July 2003 and
registered in her sole name. 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, some of which have been established as I will turn to.
3.In this judgment I will refer to the parties who share a surname by prefixing their first
names. References [ ] are to paragraph numbers in this judgment unless the context
appears otherwise. As the evidence focused on various documents including
photographs and identity documents I include where appropriate the trial bundle
reference. Certain important images from the trial bundle are reproduced in the Annex
to this judgment. When I refer to the parties’ advocates jointly I use the term
“Counsel”. I set out below my criticisms of the way the trial was conducted, the
issues, the law, the evidence of fact, my findings of fact, certain miscellaneous
matters and my determination of the issues.
4.The majority of the key documents in this claim such as, for example, the marriage
certificate of C1 and D2 are disputed as forgeries whether of the document itself or
the signatures they bear or both. I have treated all such documents as suspect as the
provenance is, in the main, uncertain and many were not proved before me in that
originals were not produced at trial, their makers did not give oral evidence, nor were
notices under the Civil Evidence Act 1972 served, nor Notices to Admit. Accordingly,
I have had to draw adverse inferences as to certain documents, evidence and events
involving the main protagonists.
CONDUCT OF THE TRIAL
5.I appreciate that preparation for and conduct of a trial especially in situations as obtain
here is rarely easy or straightforward. Trials frequently create substantial workloads,
often with unexpected points of law, evidence or procedure arising both immediately
before or during the trial. Various matters may at times not prepared as best as they
could or should be. But that is litigation. I usually endeavour, on the basis that the
legal teams and litigants in person are doing their very best, not to take points of
procedure, preparation or practice unless there is material prejudice or it affects my
consideration of the evidence, the weight I should attach to it and my judgment. But
what happened here was substantially beyond the norm and needs to be set out as the
background to my assessment of the evidence and determination of the issues.
6.My concerns include:
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