UK visa applicant given three years in prison for presenting false information to high commission

BRITISH visa applicant Kolawole Viyon has been sentenced to three years imprisonment by an Ikeja Special Offences Court for giving false information about his marital status when filling in an application form.

In the first such case of its kind, the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission had arraigned Mr Viyon for allegedly lying about his marital status. Justice Mojisola Dada, who presided over the case and read out the court's judgement, said the accused person was guilty as charged.

Following a plea bargain entered into with the prosecution, the judge, however, gave Mr Viyon an option of a N3m fine. However, the judge ruled that if the fine was not paid within 24 hours, Mr Viyon will have to mandatorily serve his prison term.

Judge Dada ruled: “Following the defendant’s guilty plea, he is hereby convicted accordingly. The terms of the plea bargain agreement are hereby adopted as the sentence of this court and the judgment thereof and he is hereby sentenced to three years imprisonment or the fine imposed.”

However, Mr Viyon's counsel, Hannah Adeyemi, told the court that he was ready to pay the fine to effect the court’s judgment. During the case, the ICPC through its counsel, Gogodoye West, told the court that the defendant and  Olaronke Akerele committed the offence on December 13, 2016, at its Lagos zonal office.

Mr West said officials of the British High Commission had in 2016 handed over Mr Viyon and his accomplice, now at large, to the ICPC, for giving false information in their visa application forms. He told the court that in his extrajudicial statement volunteered under caution before Nkem Ezenwa, an investigating officer with the ICPC, Mr Viyon made a false statement that Olaronke Akerele is his third and legally married wife.

“Viyon informed Mrs Ezenwa and Kenneth Agba, another investigating officer of the ICPC, that the marriage ceremony between him and Ms Akerele was conducted by an Imam under Islamic law. The defendant said the marriage was evidenced by a certificate with number JUN/LB/0000064 which is dated January 9, 2016 and issued by the Jama-at-ul-Islamiyya of Nigeria.

“Also, Mr Viyon lied that he had signed the marriage certificate and that the ceremony was conducted at No 108 Tokunboh St., Lagos Island, Lagos,” the prosecutor said.

However, Mr West told the court that investigations revealed that there was neither a marriage contracted between Mr Viyon and Ms Akerele nor a certificate issued by the Jama-at-ul-Islamiyya of Nigeria to that effect. At the resumed hearing of the case yesterday, Mr Viyon pleaded guilty to an amended three counts bordering on knowingly making false statements.

Prior to his plea bargain, the prosecution applied to the court for the withdrawal of the charge against Ms Akerele, who has since absconded. Also, two visa applicants, Olusola Alabi and Balogun Teslim, have been sentenced to two years in prison by the same court for presenting fake documents to the United States embassy.