A United Kingdom court has sentenced four Nigerians to prison for forging over 2,000 marriage certificates to help Nigerians live illegally in the UK.
The convicts, a 41-year-old Abraham Alade Olarotimi Onifade, 38-year-old Abayomi Aderinsoye Shodipo, 31-year-old Nosimot Mojisola Gbadamosi, and 54-year-old Adekunle Kabir, were sentenced at Woolwich Crown Court in London on Tuesday.
According to the Home Office, the four Nigerians were part of an organised criminal group that submitted fraudulent applications under the EU Settlement Scheme for Nigerian nationals.
Between March 2019 and May of last year, they provided false Nigerian Customary Marriage Certificates and other fraudulent documents to help individuals remain in the UK.
An investigation by the Home Office in the UK and Lagos uncovered more than 2000 fake marriage documents facilitated by the group, who are all Nigerian nationals themselves.
Sky News quoted Home Office Chief Immigration Officer Paul Moran as saying, “This group was prolific in their attempts to abuse our borders and has rightly been brought to justice. Like many criminal gangs, their primary motivation was financial gain.
“I am pleased my team was able to disrupt their operations, and I hope these convictions serve as a warning to others who exploit vulnerable people to make money. We will continue to work tirelessly to secure our borders and crack down on such gangs.”
Onifade, from Gravesend in Kent, and Shodipo, from Manchester, were both convicted of conspiracy to facilitate illegal entry into the UK and conspiracy to provide articles used in fraud.
They received prison sentences of six and five years, respectively.
Gbadamosi, from Bolton, was found guilty of obtaining leave to remain by deception and fraud by false representation and was sentenced to six years in prison.
Kabir, from London, was convicted of possessing an identity document with improper intention but was acquitted of obtaining leave to remain by deception. He was sentenced to nine months in prison.