NEWS
ICPC Secures Conviction in High-Stakes Visa Fraud Case as Woman Jailed for Forging National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control Documents, Linked to International Visa Racketeering Syndicate
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has recorded another major breakthrough in its fight against fraud, securing the conviction of Remilekun Temitope Balogun-Okedeyi for forging employment documents of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) to facilitate a fraudulent visa application.
According to the Commission, the conviction followed a detailed and far-reaching investigation into a sophisticated visa fraud scheme. The defendant had falsely presented herself as a staff member of NAFDAC, deploying forged employment and promotion letters, a counterfeit identity card, and a fabricated introduction letter purportedly issued by the agency to support her application.
The case, filed under Charge No. ID/27346C/2025 (FRN v. Remilekun Temitope Balogun-Okedeyi), stemmed from a petition submitted by the British Deputy High Commission. The petition exposed a wider visa racketeering network allegedly orchestrated by one Olusegun Ojo Adigun, bringing to light an organized syndicate engaged in systematic immigration fraud.
Further findings by the ICPC revealed that the syndicate was connected to no fewer than sixteen visa applications and had developed a pattern of facilitating travel to the United Kingdom through the use of falsified supporting documents, raising serious concerns about document integrity and cross-border fraud.
“At the centre of the case was the defendant’s deliberate misrepresentation of her employment status,” the Commission said.
The ICPC emphasized that its investigation conclusively established that Balogun-Okedeyi was never employed by NAFDAC, thereby rendering all documents she presented as false, deceptive, and criminally misleading.
Beyond the forged NAFDAC credentials, the defendant also submitted a falsified bank statement allegedly issued by Chanelle Microfinance Bank, covering transactions from January to July 2025.
However, investigators confirmed that she did not operate any account with the said financial institution, further compounding the fraud.
The matter was heard before Honourable Justice Mojisola Dada of the Ikeja Special Offences Court, Court 13, where proceedings took a decisive turn. During the trial, the defendant, through her counsel, Grace Adenubi (Esq.), sought a plea bargain arrangement, which was subsequently accepted by the Commission.
Following this development, the charge was amended to a one-count information, to which the defendant pleaded guilty, effectively sealing her conviction.
The prosecution team, comprising Yvonne William-Mbata, Roseline Eze, and Oluwayemisi Pereira presented compelling evidence through an investigator, Onyemauchechukwu Ezike, who tendered critical documentary exhibits that solidified the case against the defendant.
Delivering judgment, Justice Dada sentenced Balogun-Okedeyi to one year imprisonment, with an option of a ₦500,000 fine payable to the Federal Government within seven days. The court also mandated two days of community service to be carried out outside the court premises and ordered the defendant to sign a bond of good behaviour, which will be formally recorded in the Lagos State Judiciary database.
The conviction underscores the ICPC’s intensified crackdown on document falsification and identity fraud, particularly the impersonation of government institutions like NAFDAC. It also sends a strong warning to individuals and syndicates engaged in visa fraud that the long arm of the law remains firmly poised to bring offenders to justice.