Court hears how ‘sham’ groom didn’t know his Nigerian bride’s name
Font size: Our reporter 15/10/2010 01:50:00
It is understood the fake marriage such as this one is often used for the groom to obtain a visa to stay in the UK, while a bride is paid up to £2,000 for her services PHOTO: NEWSQUEST.

A PORTUGUESE groom involved in an alleged sham wedding did not even know his bride’s name after walking her down the aisle, a court has heard.

Fernando Da Silva, 43, is accused of taking part in an elaborate fake marriage scam to help a Nigerian woman gain a British passport.

Immigration police hid in the vestry at All Saints’ Church, in Peterborough , Cambs, on May 17 and pounced moments before the couple were due to make their vows.

A trial at Peterborough Crown Court heard Da Silva claim he fell "deeply in love" with bride-to-be Ruth Abumhere, 29, at a party five months before the wedding.

But the Portuguese national admitted to UK Border Agency officers he did not know simple facts about his fiancee including her surname, what she did for a living or if she had any children.

Speaking through an interpreter Da Silva told the court on Wednesday he had no recollection of meeting the love of his life.

He said: "I can’t remember much about the party. I don’t know where it was, or who was there."

Prosecutor Craig McDougall asked: "You can’t remember the party where you met the love of your life?"

Da Silva replied: "I was leading a very busy life. I cannot remember."

The factory worker told the court he also never visited his fiancee in London where she lived in the months leading up to his wedding because he was too busy.

He added: "We had a project to live the normal life of a couple and learn the language."

The court previously heard evidence that Da Silva failed to send his bride-to-be a Valentine’s Day or birthday card

Rev Peter Denton, of All Saints’ Church, said: "I was a little suspicious. Then two days before the wedding was set to take place the Border Agency asked if they could attend."

Prosecutors claim Miss Abumhere was in a relationship with Clifford Asikhia but the couple could not marry because Asikhia already had a wife.

It is alleged that she needed a British passport to remain living with Asikhia.

Da Silva, of Peterborough, is standing trial alongside Mamadu Djalo, 33, and Clifford Asikhia, 34, of London.

All three deny charges of conspiracy to arrange a wedding which facilitated the breach of UK immigration law. The trial continues.

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Questions that filled my mind when I read this article:

1. Could the actions of the UKBA in this "alleged" sham marriage be likened to the Nazi-era style of intruding into the privacy of innocent citizenry?

2. Could the actions of the so called Rev be seen as right by acting as an agent of the UKBA in this case? -THIS I THINK SHOULD SERVE AS A WARNING TO THOSE NIGERIANS IN THE UK WHO LIKE TO CARRY OYINBO REV. FOR WEDDING PHOTO OP! Thank God we now have "Made in Nigeria" churches in the UK, so no more excuses for any Nigerian to be using oyinbo Rev. for photo op weddings! Be Patriotic, patronize "made in Nigeria" church in the UK aka, Redeem, Christ Embassy, KICC, Deeper Life, Winners Chapel, etc

3. If the UKBA had very good intelligence on this "allege" sham marriage, why did they not make arrest before the would be couple made their way to the church (as they did in the case of the 3-Nigerians in Stoke-on-Trent) and why did they go hide in the vestry? MAKES ME WONDER IF THE REV WAS A PARTY TO THE ACTIONS OF THE UKBA.

P.S: WHILE I AM TOTALLY AGAINST NIGERIANS GETTING INVOLVED IN SHAM MARRIAGES, I DO HOWEVER THINK IT IS WRONG FOR THE UKBA TO DICTATE WHO OR HOW LONG A WOULD BE COUPLE NEED TO BE TOGETHER BEFORE THEY CAN GET MARRIED!

@ Omo_Tier1

Sorry i have to disagree with u here, these two broke the law, what on earth were they doing getting married if they don't care to know jack about each other? Even if the marriage is for papers, they should have saved their backside by doing it with some common sense.

This got nothing to do with whether the Rev is oyibo or black, they made a fool of themselves and deserved the out come. Why would any church get involved in such a shambolic marriage anyway? Please don't bring patriotism into this. Black Rev ministers shouldn't be joining two complete strangers in holy matrimony.

justwise:

@ Omo_Tier1

Sorry i have to disagree with u here, these two broke the law, what on earth were they doing getting married if they don't care to know jack about each other? Even if the marriage is for papers, they should have saved their backside by doing it with some common sense.

This got nothing to do with whether the Rev is oyibo or black, they made a fool of themselves and deserved the out come. Why would any church get involved in such a shambolic marriage anyway? Please don't bring patriotism into this. Black Rev ministers shouldn't be joining two complete strangers in holy matrimony.

P:S. These two have not been convicted in anyway, so you can not say they broke the Law. Like I said, their acts should not be condoned if they are found to have broken the Law, however, I was only trying to highlight the manner in which the UKBA goes about her fight against sham marriages ( which in my opinion is in a completely unprofessional way: hiding in a vestery!). Also, the Rev. claimed to have being contacted by officer of the UKBA TWO days before the marriage was to take place and in my opinion, the Rev. should have used his Godly wisdom to investigate these couple further (or was this not the norm in churches when suspicion is raised about any marriage?)before the eventful day! My comments about Nigerian churches is simply based on the fact that if it were a Nigerian church/Pastor, effort would be made to investigate these couples prior to their wedding and Has it occured to you that the UKBA has never come out in the open to mention cases of sham marriages conducted in a Nigerian church/Pastor in the UK? Why are most of the sham marriages always in the so called English church with white Rev.? ( P.S.: I am not a racist only stimulating my brains with some thoughts!).

P:S. In a decent democracy/society, you evalute both the PROCESS and the OUTCOME of an investigation and not just the outcome alone!

@ jUST WISE
The point here is why would immigra pple come to there wedding un invited why?

@ topic

yes because they're focusing on sham marriages.

notjustok:

@ jUST WISE
The point here is why would immigra pple come to there wedding un invited why?

They are doing their job by prevent pple from abusing the system.

Omo_Tier1:
P:S. These two have not been convicted in anyway, so you can not say they broke the Law. Like I said, their acts should not be condoned if they are found to have broken the Law, however, I was only trying to highlight the manner in which the UKBA goes about her fight against sham marriages ( which in my opinion is in a completelyunprofessional way: hiding in a vestery!). Also, the Rev. claimed to have being contacted by officer of the UKBA TWO days before the marriage was to take place and in my opinion, the Rev. should have used his Godly wisdom to investigate these couple further (or was this not the norm in churches when suspicion is raised about any marriage?)before the eventful day! My comments about Nigerian churches is simply based on the fact that if it were a Nigerian church/Pastor, effort would be made to investigate these couples prior to their wedding and Has it occured to you that the UKBA has never come out in the open to mention cases of sham marriages conducted in a Nigerian church/Pastor in the UK? Why are most of the sham marriages always in the so called English church with white Rev.? ( P.S.: I am not a racist only stimulating my brains with some thoughts!). P:S. In a decent democracy/society, you evalute both the PROCESS and the OUTCOME of an investigation and not just the outcome alone!

You don't seem to understand what the prob is here, this is marriage for paper hence the concern of UKBA. They have to do everything posible to make sure that the system is not abused. English church with white Rev can not verify the couple without going through UKBA, they might have noticed something fishy when interviewing the couple and contacted the UKBA to verify. Don't blame the UKBA for doing their job, blame the couple who were silly enough to make a fool of themselves. If the Black churchs with Black Rev were the best, many black couple wouldn't be going to English churchs for wedding. Some of us Nigerians are always ready to abuse the system without any shame.

Many nationalities do sham marriage but they do it  with common sense and respect.

1. Could the actions of the UKBA in this "alleged" sham marriage be likened to the Nazi-era style of intruding into the privacy of innocent citizenry?

Dont be so stupid, comparing this to the nazis is completely outrageous, over hysterical nonsense. Britain reserves the right to protect it borders from sham marraiges, and nigerians are very well known to conduct such activities.


3. If the UKBA had very good intelligence on this "allege" sham marriage, why did they not make arrest before the would be couple made their way to the church (as they did in the case of the 3-Nigerians in Stoke-on-Trent) and why did they go hide in the vestry? MAKES ME WONDER IF THE REV WAS A PARTY TO THE ACTIONS OF THE UKBA.

They have to wait until they can gather enought evidence that they were going to sham marry. arresting them before the ceromony would not be possible.