Four members from a Nigerian gang have been jailed after forging more than 2,000 marriage certificates that allowed people live in the United Kingdom (UK) illegally, Sky News UK reports.
The suspects Abraham Alade Olarotimi Onifade, 41, Abayomi Aderinsoye Shodipo, 38, Nosimot Mojisola Gbadamosi, 31, and Adekunle Kabir, 54, were all jailed for a total of 13 years after a hearing at Woolwich Crown Court in London on Tuesday, August 27, 2024.
The Home Office said the four were part of an organised criminal group that made fraudulent EU Settlement Scheme applications for Nigerian nationals.
They said this syndicate 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 Nigerians.