A police witness, ASP Monday Onoja, has told the Federal Capital Territory High Court how a travel agent, Waliyu Shitta, arranged a fraudulent marriage for a lady, Dolapo Yusuf, to facilitate her travel abroad using the identity of Emmanuel Makinde, a Nigerian based in the United Kingdom.
Mr Onoja, the investigating police officer in the suit number CR/215/2025, said Mr Shitta and his firm, Fanzine Educational Consult, falsely represented to the British authorities that Ms Yusuf was legally married to Mr Makinde.
While being led in his examination-in-chief by the prosecution counsel, Imoedemhe Vincent, on Wednesday, Mr Onoja testified before Justice Ademuyiwa Oyeyipo that “the complainant, Mr Emmanuel Opeyemi Makinde, got lawfully married, and when he attempted to bring his legitimate wife abroad, her visa application was refused on the ground that he had previously declared another marriage in his earlier visa application.
“The defendant, Mr Waliyu Aderibigbe Shitta, obtained a visa for the said lady, Ms Dolapo Afusat Yusuf, without the knowledge or consent of the complainant. Our investigation further revealed that the defendant falsely added Ms Dolapo Afusat Yusuf as the complainant’s wife in the visa application.”
Mr Onoja said the Nigeria Police Force formally contacted the British authorities for verification. He also noted that during interrogation, Mr Shitta could not provide a copy of the alleged marriage certificate for Mr Makinde and Ms Yusuf.
“When we discovered the fraud, we wrote to the British government requesting relevant information and supporting documents.
“When we questioned the suspect about the marriage certificate, he informed us that everything was done online and that he did not have a physical copy of the certificate,” Mr Onoja said.
The complainant was represented in court by Muhydeen Adeoye and Fatima Raji, while Mr Shitta and his firm were represented by Kehinde Giwa.
The matter was adjourned until March 23, 2026, for continuation of the hearing and the determination of an application seeking leave for the nominal complainant to give evidence via virtual hearing from the United Kingdom.
When Peoples Gazette contacted Mr Makinde via WhatsApp over the matter, he denied having knowledge of Ms Yusuf or being involved in a marriage with her. He, however, noted that the British authorities had threatened to deport him to Nigeria over the arranged marriage orchestrated by Mr Shitta without his consent.
“The only reason I have not been arrested in the UK is because they carried out their investigations and found no evidence that I personally participated in the fraudulent marriage,” said Mr Makinde.
He added, “However, they said they will still deport me because they believe I should have been aware of what the agent was doing. I have provided proof that the agent was fully in charge of my application, and I showed them the evidence. Despite this, they have not changed their position. I have been dealing with this issue since February 2024.”
