Four Nigerians have been jailed for helping people live in the United Kingdom (UK) after being convicted of forging over 2,000 marriage certificates.
On Tuesday, August 27, the convicts, identified as Abraham Alade Olarotimi Onifade, 41, Abayomi Aderinsoye Shodipo, 38, Nosimot Mojisola Gbadamosi, 31, and Adekunle Kabir, 54, were all sentenced at Woolwich Crown Court in London.
According to the UK home office, the four convicts were members of a criminal group involved in carrying out fraudulent EU Settlement Scheme applications for Nigerian nationals.
Between March 2019 and May 2023, they were caught with several criminal operations including, providing fake Nigerian customary marriage certificates among other fraudulent documentation to help people illegally remain in the UK.
In an investigation conducted by the Home Office in the UK and Lagos State, over 2,000 fake marriage documents were linked to the four convicted Nigerians.
The chief immigration officer at the Home Office, Paul Moran, expressed excitement at being able to intercept their operation and bring them to justice, adding that it would serve as a warning to others involved in similar activities.
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“We will continue to work tirelessly to secure our borders and clamp down on the gangs who prey on vulnerable people to make money,” he said.
Having been found guilty of conspiring to aid illegal entry into the UK and provide documents used in fraud, Onifade, a resident of Gravesend, Kent, and Shodipo, living at Manchester, were sentenced to six and five years, respectively.
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