Fraudulent visa: Nigerian family suffers deportation from Canada over fake admission letter

Lola Akinlade, a Nigerian student, has been instructed by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada to exit the country due to her use of a fraudulent acceptance letter to acquire a study visa and work permit.

Akinlade, who earned a diploma in Social Services from Nova Scotia Community College in 2019, recounted her challenging journey to CBC News on Thursday.

She revealed that she was completely unaware that the acceptance letter she received from an agent for the University of Regina back in 2016 was not legitimate until the IRCC reached out to her just weeks before her graduation from her current school.

As a mother of two, Akinlade expressed mixed emotions during her diploma ceremony—feeling joy yet anxious upon realizing that she had unknowingly depended on a counterfeit document for her study permit. She stated, I was devastated. That marked the start of my trauma.

During an interview with a Canadian news outlet, she expressed her concerns, stating that when the IRCC reached out to her, she asked them to reconsider her case.

She emphasized that she had fallen victim to a deceitful agent who had given her a fraudulent acceptance letter from a Canadian institution.

Please take another look at my file, she pleaded. I just want this situation resolved. Akinlade shared that her journey towards studying in Canada began in 2015 while she was employed as a medical sales representative at a pharmaceutical firm in Lagos, holding a business administration degree from a university in Nigeria.

She recalled encountering an individual at work who presented himself as an immigration consultant and offered assistance with her goal of becoming an international student by applying for a master’s program in business administration.

Akinlade mentioned that she did not choose any specific university but simply indicated her desire to attend a reputable school in Canada.

She described how she submitted various documents—like her passport and academic transcripts—and made payments to the agent.

Months later, he provided her with travel tickets, a study permit for Canada, and an acceptance letter from the University of Regina.

In late December 2016, she traveled to Canada with plans to begin classes in January 2017; however, upon arriving in Winnipeg on her way to Regina, she received unexpected news from the agent stating that there were no available spots at the university and that she would need to be placed on a waitlist.

After she arrived in Canada, she independently sought out a new school and program while staying with relatives in Winnipeg.

In September 2017, she was accepted into the social services program at Nova Scotia Community College, which she chose because it resonated with her background in the medical field.

Akinlade mentioned that it wasn’t until two years later that she reached out to the University of Regina, prompted by a letter from the IRCC indicating that her acceptance letter was fraudulent.

I was doubtful after receiving that letter from IRCC; I thought it could be a misunderstanding, she explained. Consequently, she contacted the University of Regina and discovered the reality of her situation.

Meanwhile, when CBC reached out to Babatunde Isiaq Adegoke, the agent involved, he confirmed that he had provided Akinlade with an acceptance letter but stated it came from Success Academy Education Consult, a company based in Ejigbo, Lagos State, which he had engaged for assistance.

In their text exchanges with Adegoke, he claimed to have guided Akinlade through her application process for entering Canada but denied informing her about being placed on a waitlist at the University of Regina.

Due to this fraudulent letter, Akinlade lost her study permit and faced rejection when trying to apply for both a postgraduate work permit and a temporary resident permit.

In March 2023, an officer from IRCC wrote to her asserting that they believed she likely knew about the document’s falsity.

Her husband Samson Akinlade and their eight-year-old son David—who was born in Nigeria—joined her in Nova Scotia in 2018 but have now lost their temporary resident status.

Their younger son was born in Canada in 2021 and holds Canadian citizenship; however, he does not have medical coverage due to his parents’ status.

We’ve been living off our savings, she shared anxiously. I’m not sure how much longer we can keep this up; it’s incredibly difficult, she added.