A Nigerian immigrant jailed for Sham marriage

Samuel Olufemi James

 A NIGERIAN immigrant who took part in a sham marriage so he could stay in the UK has been jailed.

Samuel Olufemi James wed a young Portuguese woman who had been recruited by a sinister "fixer" in a square in Lisbon notorious for prostitution and drug-taking.
James, 33, admitted that, following the wedding, he never saw his "bride" again.

The UK Border Agency uncovered the scam and fixer Oscar Prata, who had paid the young woman 2,000 Euros to marry James, was jailed. The woman was given a caution, as it was considered she had been targeted by Prata for her vulnerability.

James, who changed his name to Odede, was tracked down by the agency in March this year when he made an application to remain in the UK.


He was arrested at his home in Riddings Street, Derby, where he lived with his fiancée and daughter. At Derby Crown Court, James, who came to the UK illegally in 2003, was jailed for one year and 10 months and is likely to be deported at the end of his sentence.

Detective Constable Chris Aldridge, of the UK Border Agency, said: "This man thought he could abuse the immigration rules and evade justice by taking part in a sham marriage, moving to a different part of Derby with a partner and child and adopting a new name.

"As this case shows, we will track down, detain and prosecute those fraudsters who have no right to be in the UK."

The bogus marriage, set up by Prata, took place at St John the Divine Church, in Willenhall, Coventry, on June 30, 2009.

Prata, an Angolan-born Portuguese citizen, recruited European women who needed money, such as prostitutes and drug-users. He found the woman who agreed to marry James in a square in Lisbon. The Portuguese woman was arrested a few months after the wedding and told police she never saw James after that day.

Prata was arrested in October 2009 at another church in Coventry – St Chad's, Wood End – just before a double wedding was about to take place. Prata had been due to marry a Nigerian woman and a Portuguese woman was going to marry a Nigerian man.

At his home, police found documents with details of people for who he had arranged marriages. Written in a notebook was James's name beside an address in Wilson Street, Derby.

In November 2010, the UK Border Agency received an application for residence from James based on his marriage to an EU citizen.

The application said that the couple lived in Coventry and was apparently signed by both James and his bride.

The UK Border Agency did not grant this application. Instead, officers sought to track him down, circulating his details on the Police National Computer. But James was not found.

But then in March 2012 the Home Office received an immigration application stating that James had changed his name and was living in Derby.

This led to his arrest the following month.

When questioned by officers, James admitted that his marriage to the Portuguese woman was a sham and he had taken part in it to try to make his stay in the UK legal.

He admitted he had not seen his "bride" since the wedding and that her signature on his application to stay in the UK had been forged.

James admitted conspiracy to facilitate a breach of immigration law and fraud by false representation. The UK Border Agency said it would work to deport him after he has served his sentence.

The two Nigerians involved in the other Coventry ceremony were later jailed for a total of four years and eight months while Prata was jailed for three years and deported after serving his sentence.
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