72-year old British grandmother slams immigration authorities for denying her 27-year old Nigerian hubby visa

RETIRED British cab driver Angela Nwachukwu has lashed out at the UK immigration authorities for denying her Nigerian husband CJ a visa to live in the country despite them being legitimately married for over two years.

Mrs Nwachukwu, 72, got married to CJ, 27, an Owerri in April 2015 but since then, her husband has not been allowed into the country and she has had to visit Nigeria to see him. Angela, a pensioner, who is based in Dorchester, Dorset, has three children aged 50, 47 and 43, with many grandchildren.

Expressing her frustration, she said she met CJ on Facebook after the computer engineer sent her a message, complimenting her profile photo. She noted that after chatting for three months, the 27-year-old asked for her hand in marriage and she agreed to marry him, adding that her trip to Nigeria for their wedding in 2015 was their first time of meeting face to face.

However, she lamented the fact that since the marriage was consummated, CJ had been denied visa three times, adding that she had spent over £20,000 visiting him and trying to get him into the UK. Angela said she was shocked when her visa application for CJ was rejected on the grounds that they didn’t have enough financial backing because she was retired.

She added: "He makes me feel like the most beautiful woman in the world and I know in my heart we belong together and we won’t stop fighting until we can be together as husband and wife.  After the wedding, I found it hard leaving CJ and I knew I’d see him again soon but my family visa application was rejected.

“I was so determined to get him a visa that I hired lawyers to fight for us and I’ve since visited him twice. We’ve spent a combined £20,000, trying to see each other and I’ve used my savings and he has gradually paid me back half.”

Angela said her first son, Malcolm, after hearing about CJ became worried, thinking she had fallen to a scam but after the 50-year-old ran a check on CJ on Facebook, he became convinced that he was genuine. After messaging each other in February 2015, CJ was said to have proposed over Skype,  as his 72-year-old lover agreed.

Angela said she was afraid that CJ might not like her when he finally get to see her in person, adding that her fear turned out to be unreal as her lover hugged and kissed her at the airport. She described the wedding as the happiest day of her life but it was bittersweet because she knew she had to go back to England.

She lamented that other attempts were also rebuffed by the immigration officials, as CJ was further denied a tourist visa. Since the marriage, Angela has visited her husband in Nigeria twice, in March 2016 for three weeks and  another three weeks in January 2017.

She hopes to be permanently united with him in 2018 when she believes he will travel on a student visa for his master’s degree in computing.