| Woman
in police net over fake travel documents
By Chioma Okezie-Okeh
Saturday,
September 15, 2007
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Photo: Sun News Publishing |
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Despite government effort to polish the image of Nigerians
traveling abroad, more miscreants tend to rubbish that effort.
Recently, a lady known as Soremi Olajumoke Tolani was handed
over to the police by the British Deputy High Commissioner,
Lagos for allegedly presenting a fake certificate in order
to secure student visa to London.
Soremi had successfully fooled the authorities into believing
that she was really a student until she was picked up when
it was confirmed that the documents were actually fake.
She was arrested by the Fraud unit of the Lagos State Criminal
Investigation Department Panti, where the police hope to trace
her accomplice, a certain Olaposi Abiola.
According to our police source, Soremi’s main intention
was to get a student visa to UK with the disguise that she
wanted to go for her masters degree in the Leicester University,
UK. Funny enough Soremi who claims to be HND holder in Public
Administration
presented a certificate as a BSc holder in Economics with
upper credit from the University of Ado Ekiti. But facts from
her educational history is that she is yet to collect her
statement of result, but she already is in possession of an
NYSC discharge certificate showing that she served in Kaduna
in 2006. To crown it all, she had a bank statement from one
of the banks in Nigeria to show that she had a financial sponsor.
Saturday Sun learnt that when Soremi who applied for studies
at the Leicester University UK was sent an admission letter
and invited over for lectures, with the documents she had,
she applied to the British High Commission for visa. She was
refused visa as a result of some irregularities in the documents
she presented. Normally every applicant has the right of plea.
The Asylum and Immigration tribunal in UK ruled in Soremi’s
favour as they considered that with her good grades in secondary
and university results it would not be proper to deny her
the opportunity to study abroad.
It was the process of investigation that it was ascertained
that the documents she filed were all fake. However, they
invited Soremi over with the good news that she would be given
visa. Excited, she dropped by in the company of an alfa probably
to ensure that nothing goes wrong. It was at that point that
she was arrested and handed over to the police for further
investigation.
I am finished
Soremi, 31, told Saturday Sun that she was tired of suffering
in Nigeria and that was why she got the idea to travel to
UK for studies. According to Soremi who lives at Iwo road
Ibadan, life has always been difficult for her especially
since her father died. She managed to train herself as a part
time student at the Ibadan Polytechnic where she graduated
with a lower grade in Public Administration in the year 2003.
Upon graduation she continued with her job as a sales representative
but the income she made was not enough to carry the family
as her mother had been sick for years. She continued managing
the little fund she had till she met a friend in the course
of her duty." I complained to my friend that if I could
have the opportunity to travel out and make money for my family
I would be very happy. She introduced me to her boyfriend
for assistance".
Through the internet, the link person secured admission for
her for a masters degree in Leicester University. To help
her secure a visa, relevant documents were sent across.
She further recalled: "When he brought those documents
I was convinced that it was my time to travel out of the country.
So I played along.
He collected N70,000 from me to enable him get those fake
documents. He convinced me that if I had good grades that
there was no way the embassy would refuse to give me student
visa. Everything went on fine as he promised till I was arrested
when I was supposed to pick the visa. "How can I study
when I do not have money. If I travel I would raise money
to take care of my family then I can study if necessary. Chei
I am finished. Please oh, I do not want to travel again. I
want to stay in Nigeria and suffer maybe that is my destiny,"
she wept.
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