A Nigerian couple, Raphael Ossai and Oluwakemi Olasanoye, has been sentenced to prison in the United Kingdom after attempting to bring an orphaned baby girl into the country using fraudulent documents.
According to a BBC report, the couple was detained at Manchester Airport after Border Force officials noticed suspicious behavior when they interacted with the infant they claimed was their own.
Further checks revealed discrepancies, prompting authorities to conduct a more thorough investigation.
Ossai initially provided a birth certificate that listed Olasanoye as the mother, but officers later discovered a second birth certificate hidden in the couple’s luggage, identifying Ossai’s British wife as the child’s mother.
The investigation into the child’s identity remains ongoing, with DNA testing revealing that Lucy—an alias given to the girl—was not biologically related to Ossai, Olasanoye, or Ossai’s wife.
It was determined that Lucy was born in a rural area of Nigeria in September 2022 and was placed in an orphanage shortly after birth by her young, student mother.
Ossai and Olasanoye both pleaded guilty to immigration offenses and received 18-month prison sentences, followed by deportation.
Throughout the trial, it was revealed that Ossai and his wife had sought to adopt a child and had been granted permission to foster Lucy. However, they did not have legal authorization to adopt her or remove her from Nigeria.
Social workers reported signs of neglect in Lucy’s early months in the UK, noting that she appeared emotionally distant, underfed, and struggled to form secure attachments.
Although Ossai and his wife sought to be assessed as Lucy’s carers, expressing concerns over her cultural identity if placed with white foster families, the court rejected their appeal.
Justice Sir Jonathan Cohen concluded that their deceptive actions had caused Lucy significant emotional harm and ordered her to be placed for adoption within the UK.
Lucy has since been placed in various foster homes, and efforts will be made to ensure she is educated about her Nigerian heritage as part of her upbringing.
The Nigerian High Commission was reportedly unresponsive to requests for assistance during the High Court proceedings, leaving questions about Lucy’s complete background unresolved.
The Home Office declined to comment on the couple’s deportation status but reiterated its commitment to removing foreign nationals who violate the law.
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