Four Nigerians In UK Jailed For Forging Over 2,000 Marriage Documents

At least four Nigerians have been sent to prison in the United Kingdom, after forging over 2,000 marriage certificates.

Those involved are Abraham Alade Olarotimi Onifade, 41, Abayomi Aderinsoye Shodipo, 38, Nosimot Mojisola Gbadamosi, 31, and Adekunle Kabir, 54.

The sentencing took place at Woolwich Crown Court in London on Tuesday.

The Home Office said the four were part of an organised criminal group that made fraudulent EU Settlement Scheme applications for Nigerian nationals between 2019 and 2023. They were all sentenced at Woolwich Crown Court on Tuesday.

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They carried out the enterprise between March 2019 and May last year, and were also found to have provided false Nigerian Customary Marriage Certificates and other fraudulent documentation to help applicants remain in the country.

An investigation from the Home Office in the UK and Lagos found more than 2,000 false marriage documents were facilitated by the group, who themselves were Nigerian.

Home Office chief immigration officer Paul Moran said: “This group was absolutely prolific in their desire to abuse our borders and have rightly been brought to justice.

“As with many gangs we encounter, their sole priority was financial gain. I am delighted that my team was able to intercept their operation, and I hope these convictions will serve as a warning to unscrupulous gangs who exploit people’s desperation to remain in the UK.

“We will continue to work tirelessly to secure our borders and clamp down on the gangs who prey on vulnerable people to make money.”

Onifade, from Gravesend in Kent, and Shodipo, from Manchester, were both found guilty of conspiracy to facilitate illegal entry into the UK and conspiracy to provide articles used in fraud. They were jailed for six years and five years respectively.