By Heraldviews
When Border Force officers at Manchester Airport noticed a couple behaving oddly with a baby in June 2023, their suspicions were immediate. Something about the trio’s dynamic felt “not genuine,” one officer later testified.
What unfolded was a tangled case
of immigration fraud, contested parenthood, and a child’s uncertain future, one
that remains unresolved nearly two years later.
A Hidden Birth Certificate
Raphael Ossai, 45, and
Oluwakemi Olasanoye, 42, initially presented a birth certificate naming themselves
as the parents of the infant, later referred to in court as “Lucy.” But a
search of their luggage revealed a second document, concealed in the lining,
listing Mr. Ossai’s British wife as the mother.
Neither certificate was true.
DNA tests later proved Lucy,
now 2, was unrelated to any of the adults. Court documents revealed she had
been born to a Nigerian student in September 2022, relinquished to an orphanage
at three days old, and later fostered, but not legally adopted, by Mr. Ossai.
An Illegal Journey
The pair had flown from Lagos
via Addis Ababa, with Ms. Olasanoye, who held a valid U.K. work visa, acting as
Lucy’s purported mother. Both pleaded guilty to immigration offenses and were
sentenced to 18 months in prison, followed by deportation.
At sentencing, prosecutors
initially believed Lucy was the biological child of Mr. Ossai and his British
wife. But the High Court later heard the couple had sought to “live as a
family” in Britain after Mr. Ossai’s visa applications were denied due to
financial insufficiency.
A Child ‘So Lost’
Social workers described Lucy
as profoundly traumatized when taken into care at 13 months old.
“She did not realize she was
actually a person,” one testified, noting the girl’s “extreme cry” and panic
when separated from caregivers. While Mr. Ossai claimed to have nurtured Lucy
with music and proper care, experts argued she showed signs of neglect and
insecure attachment.
Justice Sir Jonathan Cohen
ruled the illegal removal from Nigeria caused “significant emotional harm,” rejecting
the couple’s plea to regain custody. “She needs the best opportunities,” he
said, ordering U.K. adoption with provisions to preserve her Nigerian heritage.
Immigration Loopholes and
Limits
The case exposed gaps in
international adoption safeguards. While Mr. Ossai had fostering rights in
Nigeria, he lacked legal authority to remove Lucy abroad.
Julian Bild, an immigration
lawyer, noted adoptive parents typically require a U.K. Certificate of
Eligibility. “The system scrutinizes genuineness,” he said, adding that using a
child for immigration benefits “would be pretty transparent.”
The Home Office declined to
confirm whether deportations had occurred but stated: “Foreign nationals who
commit crime should be in no doubt we will remove them.”
An Unanswered Question
Lucy’s biological mother
remains unknown. The Nigerian High Commission did not engage with court
inquiries, leaving her early history opaque.
Now transitioning to a new
identity with her adoptive family, Lucy’s case underscores the hidden human
costs of immigration fraud, and the fragility of children caught in its wake.
With additional agency reports
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