UK Border Agency: Nigerian Dad Married Daughter For Visa

Image: Courtesy of London Home Office

London (THEWILL) - A Nigerian, Jelili Adesanya is alleged to have married his daughter, Karimotu Adenike to get her a British Visa according to the UK Border Agency.

Mr. Adesanya, 54, a British passport holder and former Home Office worker wanted his daughter and her family to join him in London. To make this plan materialize, he flew to Lagos in May 2007 and held a phony wedding ceremony with her in the Ikorodu area of Lagos.

Reports say he hired a crowd to stand as guests at the wedding. They had photographs and all the paraphernalia of a typical Lagos wedding just to fool the British High Commission in Lagos.

In October 2007, at the High Commission, she was granted a two-year settlement visa. It was also gathered that she inflated her age by 10 years as their age difference may have raised a red flag. Adenike who is in her mid 30’s is said to be married with four kids to a man whose identity was not revealed.

However problems started for the duo when a whistleblower wrote the British High Commission in Lagos, the UK Home Office, and Conservative MP David Burrowes, alerting them of the bogus wedding. The letter caught the attention of the MP and prompted an investigation into the allegation.

The UK Border Agency through its Jonathan Sedwick said “ These individuals are already under investigation, and I will make it clear that abuse of our immigration laws will not be tolerated. If we identify marriages, which are not genuine, we will challenge them and prosecute where appropriate. We are determined to send home any foreign nationals convicted of these types of crimes once they have served their sentences.”

Mr. Adesanya is said to have migrated to Britain in 1976 and lives with his daughter in Dagenham, Essex. He has vehemently denied that Adenike is his daughter. “Married my own daughter? I have never heard anything like this in my life. I deny it. She is my wife, not my daughter” he retorted. However when he was asked her date of birth, he said he had to check her passport to give that answer and would not let her answer any questions.

Adesanya and Adenike have not been arrested or charged as at the time of writing this report.