Woman Bags 3 Years In Prison For Lying About Marital Status In Lagos

Mr Kolawole Viyon has been sentenced to three years imprisonment for loeing about his marital status while applying for UK Visa in Nigeria, by an Ikeja Special offences court.

The man was dragged to court following a petition received from British High Commission to ICPC

At the resumed hearing of the case yesterday, the ICPC through its counsel, Gogodoye West, told the court that the defendant and his accomplice, Olaronke Akerele, had committed the offence on December 13th 2016.

West said officials of the British High Commission in 2016 handed over Viyon and his accomplice, now at large, to the ICPC, for giving false information in their visa application forms.

In his extrajudicial statement volunteered under caution before Mrs. Nkem Ezenwa, an investigating officer with the ICPC, he made a false statement that Olaronke Akerele is his third and legally married wife. Viyon informed Ezenwa and Mr. Kenneth Agba, another investigating officer of the ICPC, that the marriage ceremony between him and 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. Viyon also lied that he had signed the marriage certificate and that the ceremony was conducted at No 108 Tokunboh St., Lagos Island, Lagos.

Viyon claimed he was married but investigations by ICPC however showed that Viyon and Akerele were never married and that the marriage certificate issued by the Jama-at-ul-Islamiyya of Nigeria to that effect was fake.

When the charges were read to him, Viyon pleaded guilty.

Delivering judgement, Justice Mojisola Dada, said the accused person was guilty as charged. The presiding judge however aksed the accused to pay N.3m fine in lure of the jail term, adding that the fine must be paid within 24 hours after the judgement was delivered.