Nigerian woman attends wedding of her partner to another woman. And then assumes bride's identity to stay in the UK | Welcome to Linda Ikeji's Blog

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Friday 27 January 2012

Nigerian woman attends wedding of her partner to another woman. And then assumes bride's identity to stay in the UK

Sham marriage: Olukayode Olusanya (left) and Zucina Sabina (right) sign the register, minutes before she left her 'husband' to return to her native Holland
A mother-of-four attended her partner’s wedding to another woman - moments before assuming the bride’s identity in a sophisticated immigration scam.

Illegal immigrant Esther Ogunrinde, 30, even took her daughter - one of the four children she had with the groom - to the ceremony, in Moston, Greater Manchester.

The ‘bride’, 28-year-old Zunica Sabina, was an EU national, who have the right to live, work and claim benefits in any member country, to marry Nigerian Olukayode Olusanya, 34, a court was told.




But minutes after posing for photographs, Sabina flew back to her native Holland with the £3,000 she had been paid for her part.
She left behind documents which were used by Ogunrinde (pictured left) to assume her identity.

The scheme meant Ogunrinde and her new 'husband' Olusanya could find work and avoid deportation.
The marriage even gave Olusanya the right under British law to remain in the country despite him being a failed asylum seeker from Nigeria.
Ogunrinde fooled three employers using an ID card which Sabina had left behind and declared as lost, in a scheme that lasted for three years before they were caught out.
On a previous visit, the sham bride had even set up a bank account and secured a national insurance number for Ogunrinde’s use, Joanna Rodikis, prosecuting, told Manchester Crown Court.

The ruse, which dated back to 2008, began to emerge last June after the UK Borders Agency was tipped off.
They say they were able to crack the ‘serious organised criminality’ by working with Dutch police.


The identity swap had begun even before the wedding at St John’s Church, Moston.
When Sabina was unable to attend church to apply for the banns of marriage, Ogunrinde stood in for her.
A court heard there was no suggestion church officials had any idea the wedding was a scam. Months later, the real Zunica Sabina flew in for the big day.
Olusanya was working as a nursing assistant at Stockport’s Stepping Hill Hospital at the time.
Ogunrinde had worked as a care assistant and cleaner, but had continued to claim food vouchers intended for asylum seekers.
The Nigerian couple, from Newton Heath, Manchester, appeared alongside each other in the dock, along with Sabina, from Amsterdam.


Sentencing, Judge Martin Steiger QC said the conspiracy had been ‘highly sophisticated’ with ‘ingenious features’.
Olusanya was jailed for 32 months after admitting two charges of conspiracy to acts to facilitate the commission of a breach of immigration law.
Gill Crossley, defending, said he had wanted to do better for his family and legitimise his eldest daughter whose birth had been hidden from the authorities because of the couple’s immigration status.


She read a glowing reference from former employers at Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust.

Laura Foster, defending social worker and mum-of-one Sabina, told the court that she had been recruited for the scheme at a time when she was so cash-strapped and she felt she had no choice. She was jailed for 16 months.
Ogunrinde was spared jail after Ronan Maguire, defending, said she had ‘mixed feelings’ about the sham marriage, but had gone along with her partner, who was ‘determined’ to stay in the UK.


Judge Steiger said he could not ignore ‘humanitarian considerations’ in her case, since she had four children, ‘even if her continued reproduction’ had been in part an attempt to ‘cynically’ improve her hand with the authorities.


She must serve a 12-month suspended sentence and do 180 hours of unpaid work.
Both Sabina and Ogunrinde admitted a single count of conspiracy to acts to facilitate the commission of a breach of immigration law. Ogunrinde also admitted three charges of possessing false identity documents.


John Dilworth, head of the North West Complex Case Unit at Crown Prosecution Service said: 'The marriage was a sham in an attempt to defeat the immigration rules that protect UK borders.
'The Crown Prosecution Service will continue to pursue anyone involved in such offences and prosecute robustly.'

Culled from Daily Mail UK

60 comments:

How To Win In Business said...

These are the people who give Nigeria a bad name... SMH

Free mobile download said...

She's is really a very bad image in nigeria.

Anonymous said...

this is nothing new....my cousin and his wife have been doing this for years joor, so many nigerians in the UK do it. My sis inlaw uses the arrangi wife's documents such as name, NI card and bank account oh n ID card bcuz the arrangi wife has gone back to her country which is in Europe....this is nothing new to me.....mtcheww

Anonymous said...

Really? Wot a pity

Anonymous said...

A lot of them live this kind of life in the u.k...some even steal from the govt when they deem fit..Thats why i dont blame white people when they think we are all the same...SMH

Anonymous said...

linda I think you having a slow news day.This is not new and its what people do here to get their papers so what's so new about this n is this meant to be a news?duaaaaahhhhhhhhh.Next pls

Fearless! said...

Desperate times call for desperate measures!
Its easy to judge others but when people get syuck here and they can't legally go back home,they start coming up with all this criminal ideas.
The truth is that most of the pple that do these stuff are not educated,they are better off doing their "early morning" than begging for money back home.

They have access to basic amenities here than in Nigeria!

Its just sad!
Just this morning, I was wondering why I'm from Nigeria sef!

Nothing works!

Even my colleagues at work try to ask funny questions abt 9ja and it is very annoying.I dnt blame them cos they read all these kind of stuff.

Anonymous said...

Remove this linda ...for dignity n respect, ww love u but this not nice....cheers

Anonymous said...

Shebi dey will b jailed in same uk d guy is so adamant to remain in. Good for him den...

Anonymous said...

This is what all of these yoruba people, who think they must stay on in the U.K by all means, do to worsen Nigeria's already bad reputation. SMH!!

Anonymous said...

So because nigeria is bad it makes commiting a crime ok? The things we say to justify stupidity...Please speak for yourselves if you are involved in this kind of act, there are countless decent, hardworking Nigerian men and women living and working legally in the UK who are painted in a bad light by the selfish actions of a minority.

Anonymous said...

@ Anonymous January 27, 2012 11:47 PM. is it only yoruba people dat do it. if you dont know wat to say, dont comment is not by force hiss.

Anonymous said...

Count yourself lucky if you have access to education,good career.what are the good provisions for better future in Nigeria. Stop all your selfish thinking.

Anonymous said...

MY sista linda,pls stop selling nigerian citizens so cheap oki?
is better u sell nigeria governments than its citizens oki?
you can know all that time you inter US embassy for just a visa,,
for me,i dont need a visa to go US europe,UK,and canada/austrilia,,but need a visa to go afrika,nd less south afrika and schwassland,,so glow up,,europe and AMIRICA dey u far,,,from swiss

Anonymous said...

@anon11:47pm.....Na iBo dey do most of these sef so shut up and stop saying itz Yoruba people.na any potential naija fit do am

Anonymous said...

shame on you Linda. shame on you resorting to MTO tactics, posting anything on your blog just to get traffic.
Like you would not do "arrangee" if it came to it.
Don't alienate people from your blog cause it wont do you any good.
We all know naija is bad but no be you suppose dey talk am.

ibo boy said...

This just show how badly our leaders have messed up our country that our people do anything to avoid coming back.

Nigeria does not really reward hard working people and If you're not rich in Nigeria, you are going to suffer.

In essence, until Nigeria gets better, we will continue to be a nuisance to other countries.

Anonymous said...

Lida this na OLD NEWS.... Give us better news

Anonymous said...

E go betta e go betta na im make nna tay 4 lagos,e go berra e go berra na im make yoruba tay 4 london

Anonymous said...

this is not a big deal at all....why jail terms is 2 harsh. this pple r not murderer now for god sake. they want a better life for their family. pls ppl dont paint dem bad. they are not a threath to the community they lived. if u want to see real criminal pls watch crimewatch. And u will c what dis bastard oyinbo dey do to their pple very bad bad tin.

Anonymous said...

Pls think b4 you talk it is better to do anything to stay in uk
than to die in the hands of Boko Haram all those hypocrites that are wining their useless mouths will do the same anytime anyday !

Anonymous said...

anony 02:47 u dey craze ,stupid idiot must u sectionalise dis.dis is wat decadence in d nigerian system has caused sm intending gud citizens

Anonymous said...

i'm very sorry for the way things had turn out to be for this couple. you people blamin them should know that, you just have to survive. and that is one in a thousand ways
of survivig.

Makeover by T.E.J.U said...

I just feel so sorry for them,..its better to be a crocodile here than be a lizard in the UK.

chikeaghadiuno said...

Disgusting

Anonymous said...

@anon 11:50 pm ure correct!u couldn't have said it any better

Anonymous said...

yoruba ppl n UK!! Aargh .. Na by force? If u dont av money, why should u go in the first Place... Its more dignifying to stay Home n soak ijeBu garri sha ...smh

danxed said...

THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH THIS AS FAR AS I AM CONCERN..........GIVING NIGERIA A BAD NAME....THATS BULLSHIT....DID THEY ROB OR LOOT ANYBODY LIKE OUR LEADERS DO EVERY MINUTE. ITS ABOUT SURVIVAL....DONT SAY NONSENSE COS U ARE PRIVILEGED....SOME NIGERIAN LIVE WORSE THAN REFUGEES IN NIGERIA

Anonymous said...

When they were colonising they had no awareness of borders, we should be talking about reparations but they still continue to divide, rule and loot our motherland.

Anonymous said...

Any time any day I'll be proud to be a Nigerian...and you can always denounce your country since you won't be the first to do so. Firstly Linda this is not news people who're desperate do these things to survive, if the roles were reversed white folks will do worse. They're not better than us but again that doesn't make it right. Secondly why publish this because you've shamed the family of these folks back home & I don't see what this has achieved. Bottomline is if Nigeria is a better country than it is you'll never have Nigerians running to all corners of the planet legally or illegally to earn a living in these large numbers that we've got today. Please Linda learn to be more sensitive when you have stories as these. Cheers.

Anonymous said...

so if everyone becomes a criminal because nigeria is not good, what type of country would we be in.
SO because nothing works some people decide to illegally immigrate to another country and defraud the benefit system meant for their own citizens.
truth is the difference btw the life they live here and that which they lived in nigeria is that their is constant electricity. that is all. ALmost all of them here are fraudsters who live off peoples stolen credit card details.

Nigeria is not good, is it ot me and you that made it bad. people should stop using that reason cos its stale.

Anonymous said...

I do not blame them because no one wants to live in a Nigeria where you will be blown to peices and the perpetrators are asked to come to aroundtable with govt to discuss how much taking ur life really cost.

Anonymous said...

Those lazy wankers onthe daily mail will be having a field day running their mouth as they see all other ethnicities as a threat to their benefits system. Hope they cap it at 10000 a year even less

Anonymous said...

Hi Linda, and commenters,

This is sad... But it's not uncommon , I am one of the majority ( mind you not minority) of people who live in England and were fortunate to have their legal stay ... Because contary to public oppinion, a lot of nigerians are in the UK legally , and I mean not through these means but via the proper channel!

Saying that, there is a minority who not by their own plan have found themselves doing this " arraingee" marriages... Many of whom have been illegal immigrants for a while and considering they don't really have anything to do if they go back home, they do this.... Like one commenter said " desperate times, calls for desperate measures"
And I know a lot if your readers back home might be saying " nothing wrong with Nigeria, come back home, blah blah etc" well you might be lucky and have a good job or merely just getting by in Nigeria.. But for an illegal immigrant who's future is already bleak overseas would think, things are hard enough for then in the uk, how then will such a person , educated or not, trust or hope for a future in Nigeria?

I have a few friends who've married eu or uk citizens all for this purpose abd I can tell you ... They are not exactly holding a party or rejoicing over the fact. They just want to survive! Many of whom already have a family here ie children in school! How then do such a person, with no job opportunity in Nigeria, nO house, basic amenities, come back or be willing to come back home?

This is why I advise most of my friends in Nigeria that England is not as easy as it seems, if you don't have a valid visa to stay or work, or a hope of it becoming so, DO not come here and " sidon" with your visiting visa, cos it's hopeless! Visiting visa says Obe thing clearly, visit only! No right to work, no recourse to public funds!!

Also on this matter, this is not uncommon practice, from years back..,10, 20 years back even till today! A lot of our pioneers, fathers who've now given most of their Nigerian born kids a British passport, were here as students, had a fling with a White girl, married them... Just to get the red P... So really... It was a means of survival!!

I won't go on! But just to cap it all, it's not easy back here.. But anyone that says Nigeria is better should come lice here for a month, work legally and see if their visa expired or was taken away... If they'll immediately entertain the idea of going back or being deported ( which in this country, England) is a criminal offence ( to be deported i mean)

Y'all have a fab weekend!
Yours truely!
British-Nigerian Bird!! X

Anonymous said...

They should appeal !! They will win the case ! Its oyibo we r talking about here very kind people! Gamu Nengu is still living in scotland despite threats of deportation!

Anonymous said...

stay na stay either by jailing or by living. that's what makes fast lane bumpy...

Anonymous said...

Linda, please leave this post oooo let Nigerians know what they are admiring in those living in UK. There are more stories like this. Please PUBLISH THEM all. I am sure those asking you to remove it are related to them.

Anonymous said...

DISGRACE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! any time i read immigration wedding scam, i know say na naija especially yorubas.....just an observation lol

Anonymous said...

u dont need to get tribal about this.. if you have problems with the yoruba u berra sort urself out if not u can like to go and kiss cobra......mmmmssscheeeeew

Anonymous said...

I bet if most of you find yourself in a situation like that you will do the same.
I don't condone this act at all, please don't get me wrong, but nigeria as a country is bad enough already, no amount of fraudulent, or any form of scam will clean this image. if we want to clean this image, let it start from our country itself ( from President, our government, local government, offices, banks, schools etc
At least this guy is not going on killing spree, his only to survive on what he know.
Because this is europe doesn't mean thier is no fraud, scam, cheating here in the UK, is even worst than you can imaging.
They all think all black people are illegal immigrant anyway. I was going to reset my password at work any we need a reminder, Mine came up as place of birth, and i said Camden, North Part of London, they were so shock they were telling each other.
If I am asked funny questions by my collegue, I give them a UK similar version of their question(s).

I believe this couple should have take a legal path and let God fight for them.

DO NOT CONDEMN OTHERS COS YOU MIGHT FIND YOURSELF IN A SIMILAR SITUATION

Bola77uk said...

This is a practical struggle for survival bt it is sad when couple claim NASS support & still double up working. I don't blame them for trying to stay in Uk bt obtaining pecuniary advantage by deception is not nice........ With four kids under NASS support gives them a lot of money....... So, they don't need to fraud. In all, what can I say when the situation back home is killing????? What a shame to be a Nigerian?

Anonymous said...

I am soo sorry the game was exposed.It is very normal.survival of the fittest in europe.I wish them well.

Anonymous said...

like i said in my earlier earlier , which of course you did not post, shame on you. i bet you got your training from MTO. Another blogger will soon come with news people are interested then i'll see if you'll go back to modeling. i know you won't post this too but at least you'll get to read it

lucabracee said...

dont blame those people for the stuffs they are getting up to,blame our leaders that have so spoilt the country that nigerians will fight to attain the citizenship of another country at whatever costs.they are not involved in stealing or drugs,most of them simply want to regularise their stay in the country in order to have a good job and opportunities both for themselves and their family. something not obtained in nigeria.
can you imagine this guy for instance and his wife bringing four children back home??

school fees and feeding,healthcare alone for four children is almost a million a year at least now factor in accommodation e.t.c
it is very easy telling them to come back home but to do what,join the millions of unemployed?

how many ghananians,cameroonians north africans do you see in uk doing same?they don't have to because their country is not as worse.

the fact is that it is what it is,when ppl are pushed to a corner by severe immigration policies and a crack down on immigrants you will always get these sort of situation.
when the british govt made student visas and visiting visa easier for nigerians during the 2004 to 2008 more nigerians relocated back to nigeria because they know they can visit.
now most nigerians who are illegal are hiding below the radar .according to the records for last year the ukba have not and will not be able to deport even 10% of illegals so it shows the crack down can't work

until the con dem coalition revert back to the democrats immigration policy to give blanket amnesty to specific demographics of illegals this will continue
it did not work during the thatcher govt and it certainly can't work now

AND??? said...

And???? biko there are people of all cultures who do this kind of things or similar things just to stay and work in the land. Didn't they bust like 19 Paki's back in October of last year, all using the same name and the last name was Patel. They were all working in different grocery stores all accross the U.K. I beg i

Anonymous said...

Wow !! Guilty conscience ay?

grace said...

bloody hypocrites! my friend this is wrong! dont try to sugar coat the trugh erm nigeria is bad but people are living there, are u better than those struggling in nigeria? must u get ur stay by hook or crook, disgusting people that give honest nigerians a bad tag and as one of the commentators wrote, sometimes things like this make me wish i wasnt a nigerian but i thank God that there are also sincere and honest nigerians out there. so linda shouldnt post this because y'all are guilty of committing this crime. To be honest, i dont see d craze or d hype about all these western countries sha.

Anonymous said...

Yorubas are a disgrace!

Anonymous said...

Thank you Grace for noting the hypocrisy. The analogy is the same as stealing because one is hungry, but yet everyone says stealing is wrong. Hell at times alleged thieves are dealt vigilante justice which is murder if we want to get technical. This is similar to the prostitution problems plaguing Nigeria, but that's a whole different topic. So if you know the immigration laws of the foreign land you are in, and you know what is right and wrong, then please stop deceiving yourself and just admit to yourselves that you will turn criminal to achieve what you want. In other words selling crack is okay because I need a job and I need to eat, scamming people of their finances with their checks and plastic cards is necessary because I need to make a livelihood for myself, as well as engaging in fake marriages where making fake oaths are fine since I have to stay in whatever host country I am in whether by hook or crook. I have no problem with people breaking the law as long as you fully understand what you do but and understand the consequences that come with it since in this world good and evil do co-exist. But please stop trying to justify fraudulent marriages because it is illegal and it makes you a bloody HYPOCRITE

Anonymous said...

Linda sure you heard you were out of order..u need to open your eyes and learn about the way so The West and their Media operates..this is because you girls read too much crap celeb gossip from US and only concerned bout ur weaves and shoes to understand the dynamics.That Daily Mail you so fond of..do you know that is one of the most racist papers??..so the stolen money taken from Nigeria to Western banks..now tell me which is worse..who's fooling who here..
Its not nice but oyinbos are worse 'cos they know how to sugar coat their crimes that cut much deeper..leave all this petty misdemeanour..if its beyond your grasp..if u like post...u know my feelings on this issues!!..

Anonymous said...

Sharrap those dissing Yorubas..let's see the tribe of the next drug execution in Asia..who are the drug dealers and pimps in SA??..u lot are just not smart enough to hack the UK
your guess is as good as mine..IGBOs

NigeriaPolitricks.com said...

Omo babe, it looks like you just lost alot of your readers in the UK by posting this story! These are our UK brothers and sisters, who are staying at home and reading your blog all day because they dont have papers, and now you dump this story on their head as an insult upon injury...com'on Linda, abeg give your paper-less UK fans something to cheer about! No sad stories of a mirror image of what they going through. Biko nu!!!

Anonymous said...

Grace,
God bless you! You voiced my opinion. I understand things are tough in Nigeria but this couple was already getting money from the government for their kids and then still engaged in shady dealings. Nigerians need to be careful. All these western nations are gradually sinking if you carefully follow the news, their economies are sinking and a time will come when they will no longer want Africans in their midst if they feel their limited resources are not enough for their own citizens. Anyways....

computer digital world, creat your own websit and make money online said...

At list there should be another way out and not only that way come she have to thing vary well.

Anonymous said...

It is not only nigerians who do this sort of a thing...it's just how the bloody press hype this when it comes to us! Fuck you. If una no come steal initially, we have absolutely nothing in come. And it is pure human nature. Some people make the laws, others find the loop holes in it! We are smart strong people. We must survive. I don't judge this guys for tryn to survive. What does niaja have to offer the future of their family!

Anonymous said...

Hi Linda,
Its unfortunate you have received so much negative comments over this story. Again it brings to fore the level of moral decadence that has eaten deep into our society (Nigeria). What is not good is not good..koloruko meji.
The truth be told - a lot of people do things here in the UK that they will not do at home bcos their family members will not know. They make life extremely difficult for law abiding Nigerians who live here and play by the rules of the country.
Please publish as many of these kind of stories as you can lay your hands on, may be it will act as a deterent for Nigerians who think they can do whatever they like here without the knowledge of their family members and friends back home. I personally can send you a lot of similar stories and even worse ones involving Nigerians. The idea is not to paint Nigeria or Nigerians in bad light, but may be the exposure of these acts back home can at least be a deterent to the few bad ones painting the rest of us in bad light. More grease to your elbow Linda.

Anonymous said...

Most Nigerians are corrupt to the bone and are not even sorry for it. This is why God has delivered Nigeria into the hnads of her enemies in the form of boko haram. If Nigerians do not repent from their evil and selfish ways, they will see shege in the not so distant future. Shameless corrupt people with no dignity!

Anonymous said...

This is not news linda get busy and leave the innocent couple alone ,so you want them to come back to that boko haram country ,this happens everyday is no big deal abroad they are just unlucky couple ,even oyinbo pple dey do am

Lami said...

Lets all SHOOT the messenger shall we?

lucabracee said...

@grace
your comment is unfortunate but i guess it shows the disconnect you have with the situation of those demographics presently in the uk.
so your solution to their immigration problem is to come back home?
when they do who will feed and clothe them and the children? in a country with absolutely zero welfare
so you want the four children who have never been to nigeria,not used to the weather no healthcare or education in place to just move back to nigeria?
if you have children i am sure you won't advice such a move.

every single demographics have gone through this hence nigeria is not an exception go and find out during the jewish pogrom they migrated anywhere and everywhere through whatever means and they suffered the racist abuse even in uk until the afro carribeans and indians migrated and also suffered same now nigerians are at the buttom of the rung hence are suffering same now.

for every nigerian bogus marriage there are at least 20 indian/pakistani ones but the difference with them and us is that they won't start abusing and casting vitriol on their own citizens.
while i don't support illegal stuffs i will condone it because it is pragmatically the only way out for them and i don't have a better solution to their problems if you do then share so that they can come back home

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