Two more jailed for marriage sham

Titilayo Ajobiewe, 29, from Nigeria, and Carlos Carvalho, 26, from Portugal, were sentenced at Chichester Crown Court on Friday to six months' imprisonment.

The sentencing comes just days after a similar, unconnected, marriage scandal last week when a Nigerian man was jailed for two years and his co-defendent was given a two year suspended sentence.

Ajobiewe pleaded guilty to making a false statement and having a false Nigerian passport. Carvalho pleaded guilty to two counts of making a false statement, including declaring he lived in South Farm Road, Worthing.

A third person, Frederick Osemwengie, 34, from Nigeria, had his case transferred to Croydon.

Before their case was sent to the Crown Court, the group had appeared in custody at Worthing Magistrates' Court on July 13. None of the three entered pleas to the charges at this point.

During this earlier hearing, Kirsten Sharp, prosecuting, said Osemwengie "master minded" the plot. Miss Sharp told the court he had arranged the marriage for a 2,000 fee.

Miss Sharp said he paid Carvalho to fly from Portugal to marry Ajobiewe at Worthing Register Office on July 12, so she could live and work in the country.

The prosecution alleged that since moving to England in 1996, he had married a French woman, but committed bigamy when he illegally married a Portuguese woman using a false passport.

Of Carvalho, Miss Sharp said: "He has come to this country particularly to marry this woman for money and had he not been caught he would have probably been back in his country and we would never have seen him again."

Mark Rogers, defending Ajobiewe, said in his client's country, arranged marriages were traditional and she was unaware of any wrong doing. He said: "My client is part of a tribe in Nigeria whereby one of the rituals is to be married to one of the tribal elders. Unfortunately for her, such a relationship involves a large amount of violence. In order to get away from danger she fled to England.

"To us, an arranged marriage like that seems strange, but when she was living in Nigeria, no-one gave her the choice. Arranging and fixing marriages is not something uncommon to her.

"She believed that if she married an EU citizen, she could stay in this country. She did not realise it was a breach in the law and never realised how much trouble she would be in. If she goes back to Nigeria, she is dead."