Four Nigerians jailed for 13 years over 2,000 fake marriage certificates in UK immigration scam

A sophisticated organised crime network that flooded the UK immigration system with more than 2,000 forged Nigerian customary marriage certificates has been dismantled, with four of its members handed a combined 13 years in prison at Woolwich Crown Court.

Abraham Alade Olarotimi Onifade, 41, of Gravesend, Kent; Abayomi Aderinsoye Shodipo, 38, of Manchester; Nosimot Mojisola Gbadamosi, 31, of Bolton; and Adekunle Kabir, 54, of London were sentenced after an investigation by Home Office criminal and financial investigators working with colleagues based in Lagos exposed the scale of the fraud.

Between March 2019 and May 2023 the group produced and supplied false Nigerian customary marriage certificates and supporting paperwork so that Nigerian nationals could submit bogus applications under the EU Settlement Scheme. The scheme, introduced to protect the rights of EU citizens and their family members after Brexit, was systematically abused to secure leave to remain for people who had no lawful entitlement.

Onifade and Shodipo were convicted of conspiracy to facilitate illegal immigration and conspiracy to provide articles for use in fraud. Onifade received six years’ imprisonment; Shodipo five years. Gbadamosi was found guilty of obtaining leave to remain by deception and fraud by false representation and was sentenced to 18 months. Kabir was convicted of possessing an identity document with improper intention and received nine months; he was cleared of the more serious charge of obtaining leave by deception.

Home Office Chief Immigration Officer Paul Moran described the operation as prolific and driven purely by profit. “This group was absolutely prolific in their desire to abuse our borders and have rightly been brought to justice,” he said. “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.”

The investigation, conducted jointly in Britain and Nigeria, uncovered more than 2,000 counterfeit marriage documents. Officials said the fraud highlighted how organised groups can target specific visa routes once they identify weaknesses in verification processes. The EU Settlement Scheme relied heavily on documentary evidence of family relationships, including customary marriages recognised under Nigerian law. The gang exploited that reliance by manufacturing certificates that appeared authentic enough to pass initial checks.

Prosecutors told the court the defendants operated as a coordinated unit, producing the false papers and facilitating their use in applications designed to deceive immigration caseworkers. The scale of the output—averaging several hundred documents a year over more than four years—indicated a well-organised production line rather than isolated opportunism.

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The case forms part of a wider Home Office effort to disrupt immigration-related organised crime. Investigators stressed that while the scheme itself was legitimate, the deliberate manufacture and commercial supply of forged supporting documents struck at the integrity of the system and undermined public confidence in border controls.

All four defendants are Nigerian nationals. Their convictions and sentences send a clear message that those who treat the UK’s immigration routes as a commercial opportunity face substantial prison terms. The Home Office has indicated that further work continues to identify any residual false applications that may still be in the system and to recover proceeds of the crime where possible.