Wife bags 1 year jail term for forging marriage certificate

A Mapo Grade ‘A’ Customary Court in Ibadan on Friday, sentenced one Bolanle Adeyemo, 50, to one year in the correctional centre for possessing and forging a marriage certificate in court.

Delivering judgment, the President of the court, Mrs S.M. Akintayo, held that she convicted and sentenced Bolanle based on her guilty plea and the evidence tendered against her by the prosecution.

Akintayo also said that the court exercised its discretion in sentencing Bolanle haven pleaded guilty to the charges preferred against her.

She therefore sentenced Bolanle to one year in the correctional centre for each of counts two and three respectively or an option of one month of community service for the offences of unlawful possession and forgery of marriage certificate.

The President of the court discharged the convict of the first count of conspiracy.

Mr Adeboye Adeyemo, 55, the husband to the now convict had on March 26, filed a divorce suit against Bolanle due to the misunderstandings between them.

However, in her attempt to save the marriage, Bolanle told the court that she had a valid marriage with Adeyemo and that it should not be dissolved.

The convict therefore, tendered the forged marriage certificate to substantiate her claim which was opposed by Adeyemo.

Consequently, the court ordered the police to carry out a thorough investigation to unravel the truth.

Earlier, the Prosecutor, Insp. Ayodele Ayeni told the court that the convict committed the crime at about 9; 00 a.m., at Mapo, Ibadan, Oyo State.

Ayeni said that Bolanle tendered the forged marriage certificate before the court as evidence in a divorce suit filed against her by Adeyemo.

He said Adeyemo opposed the admissibility of the exhibit, arguing that no marriage certificate was issued to them on Sept. 12 1996.

The prosecution said that investigation conducted revealed that Ibadan North Local Government registry which was on the certificate denied ever issuing any marriage certificate to Bolanle and that the one in her possession was a fake.

He said that the offences contravene the provision of sections 516, 465 and 430 of the criminal code cap 38 vol. ii law of Oyo State 2000