Sham marriage halted by vigilant registrar

Nigerian Shola Yaya, who was using a false name, had approached Rev Nicholas Heaton after a service in West Yorkshire in October last year saying he lived in Churwell and wanted to marry his Portuguese partner Maria Da Silva.

He was told to go to St Peter's Church in Morley, Leeds, the following weekend to give their details to the church administrator.

He did so and was then informed he would have to contact Julian Gill, the diocesan registrar in Wakefield to apply for a licence.

Mehran Nassiri, prosecuting, told Leeds Crown Court yesterday Yaya was given an appointment at Mr Gill's office and attended a meeting on October 14 with a woman who produced a passport in the name Da Silva.

Mr Gill took copies of their passports as well as an electricity bill purporting to be for a residence in May Avenue, Morley, before issuing the licence.

He later discovered, however, that another couple had lived there since 2004 and when he visited the address found they knew nothing of the Nigerian.

By then Yaya and a different woman Adejuomoke Ariyeye, pretending to be Miss Da Silva, had met Rev Heaton to arrange their wedding including choice of readings, hymns and music.

A wedding date had provisionally been set for November 21 but after Mr Gill reported his suspicions to Rev Heaton and alerted the North East Immigration Crime team it was changed to December 12 and a further meeting with the couple was arranged for December 8.

Mr Nassiri said when the pair attended St Peter's that day they were arrested. Yaya said Ariyeye was acting as a stand- in for Da Silva who wanted more money to attend.

Arrested in January this year, Da Silva said she had been approached by an Angolan and promised money for marrying someone.

She had handed over her passport and received some cash and later was contacted by "Shola" but she had decided not to go ahead with it.

She was not aware of the other woman posing as her.

Yaya, 23, of no fixed address was jailed for 12 months after admitting conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration, possessing a false passport and making a false statement.

Da Silva, 20 of Salisbury Road, London, and Ariyeye, 23, of Spruce Court, Salford, who each admitted conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration, were given 12-month jail sentences suspended for a year with 150 hours unpaid work.