Sham marriages: 10 more Nigerians arrested in UK •May be imprisoned, deported

Posted by admin Headlines Thursday, January 27th, 2011

TEN more Nigerians have been arrested by the UK Border Agency over crimes that relate to sham marriages and immigration fraud in continuation of the coordinated crackdown by the agency against foreigners.

Those found guilty face imprisonment and deportation.

A statement sent to the Nigerian Tribune via electronic mail by the agency, on Wednesday, hinted that British courts had since December 2010 handed out jail sentences totalling over 12 years to Nigerians arrested in the operations.

A breakdown of the figure showed that on December 6, 2010, Tunde Ayanniyi, 50, and Bukola Arinkanmile, 28, were sentenced to 20 months and three years respectively for conspiring to break immigration laws. Victoria Adesola, 34, was jailed for two years for her involvement in a sham marriage.

Also, two fake grooms, Olarotimi Ojugbele, 41, and Idowu Komolafe, 34, were jailed for 21 months each for their roles in sham marriages. In Belfast, Patrick Ozegebe, 34, was jailed for six months for trying to open a bank account with a false Nigerian passport.

The European accomplices of those involved in sham marriages, according to the statement, were also jailed as Czech ‘brides’ Nadesa Mirgova, 26, Anna Gabcova, 32, Pavel Mirga, 23, Kveta Pokosova, 45 and Czech ‘groom’, Roman Horvath, 35, all received jail sentences ranging from 16 months to three years.

The Regional Director for the UK Border Agency in Africa, Simon Peachey, in the statement noted that while the UK welcomed genuine visitors from Nigeria, it would, however, come down hard on those who breach visa conditions.

He said that the UK took abuse of the system very seriously and noted that a marriage certificate alone did not give foreign nationals the right to live and work in the UK.

He said, “their relationship has to be genuine, otherwise they face prosecution or removal from the UK. Those attempting to break the UK’s immigration rules by obtaining a British passport fraudulently face a prison sentence, deportation and potentially being barred from re-entering the UK.”

UK Immigration Minister, Damian Green said, “tackling immigration abuse is at the heart of the government’s agenda. Those who facilitate sham marriages are breaking the law and will be held accountable for their actions.

“We have made enforcement action against sham marriages a top priority. Where there is evidence to suggest a wedding may not be genuine we will investigate and bring those involved to justice.”

-Tribunewp_posts