ICPC secures conviction in UK Visa document forgery case

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Lagos State Office, has secured the conviction of Ijamulisi Ayodele James for his role in the falsification of documents used in fraudulent applications for United Kingdom visas.

The conviction followed credible intelligence from the British High Commission, which alleged that the defendant was responsible for producing forged documents, including invitation and introduction letters purportedly from Clarivate Analytics and Thomson Reuters, alongside a counterfeit bank statement and payslip.

This conviction reinforces the Commission’s resolve to tackle document fraud, protect the integrity of international travel systems, and uphold the rule of law in Nigeria as contained in a statement signed by Demola Bakare, Director, Public Enlightenment and Education/Spokesperson for the Commission, made available to Journalists on Wednesday.

The ICPC’s prosecution team led by Yvonne William-Mbata had in the course of the trial, disclosed that the Commission’s Investigations confirmed that the fraudulent documents were prepared at the request of Dennis Adetoye Adeniran and Awoke Nimota Omobolaji, both of whom had earlier been prosecuted and convicted in related cases in 2019 and 2025, respectively.

On 7th August, 2025 the defendant was arraigned before Hon. Justice R.A. Oshodi at the Ikeja Special Offences Court on a four-count amended charge of forgery under Section 467 of the Criminal Code Act, Cap C28, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.

He pleaded guilty to all counts under a plea bargain agreement approved by the Commission.

Following his plea, the Court convicted the defendant and sentenced him to a fine of ₦1 million or seven-days’ imprisonment on each count, with the sentences to run concurrently.

The defendant is required to pay an aggregate fine of ₦4 million into a designated account or serve a custodial term of seven days at the Kirikiri Maximum Correctional Facility.

The Court further ordered the biometric registration of the convict in the Lagos State Judiciary Offenders’ Database and mandated the filing of an affidavit of good behaviour at the High Court Registry.

In addition, the Commission reserves the right to reopen investigations should he violate the terms of his undertaking, or where new facts, undeclared assets, or offences relating to corruption subsequently emerge.

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