A Nigerian couple has been sentenced to prison in the United Kingdom for attempting to illegally bring an orphaned baby girl into the country using forged documents.
Raphael Ossai and Oluwakemi Olasanoye were detained at Manchester Airport after Border Force officers noticed suspicious behavior between the couple and the infant they claimed as their own. According to a BBC report, further checks revealed discrepancies that led to an in-depth investigation.
Ossai initially presented a birth certificate listing Olasanoye as the mother, but officers later discovered a second birth certificate in the couple’s luggage, which listed Ossai’s British wife as the child’s mother.
This discovery prompted a complex investigation into the child’s true identity, which remains unclear. DNA tests later confirmed that the child, known by the pseudonym “Lucy,” was not biologically related to Ossai, Olasanoye, or Ossai’s British wife.
It was established that Lucy was born in rural Nigeria in September 2022 and placed in an orphanage shortly after her birth by a young, student mother.
Ossai and Olasanoye pleaded guilty to immigration offences and were sentenced to 18 months in prison, followed by deportation.
Court proceedings revealed that Ossai and his wife had been in the process of adopting a child and had received permission to foster Lucy. However, they did not have legal rights to adopt her or to remove her from Nigeria.
Social workers reported signs of significant neglect during Lucy’s early months in the UK, noting that she appeared emotionally withdrawn, undernourished, and struggled to form secure attachments.
Despite the couple’s appeal to the High Court to be assessed as Lucy’s carers—citing concerns about her cultural identity if placed with white foster families—the court rejected their application.
Justice Sir Jonathan Cohen ruled that the couple’s fraudulent actions had caused Lucy “very significant emotional harm” and ordered that she be placed for adoption within the UK.
Lucy, who has been moved between several foster homes since arriving in the UK, will be provided with information about her heritage as part of her upbringing.
The Nigerian High Commission reportedly did not respond to multiple requests for assistance during the High Court proceedings, leaving many questions about Lucy’s full background unanswered.
The Home Office declined to comment on the couple’s deportation status but reiterated its commitment to removing foreign nationals who violate the law.
