Court Jails Woman for Forging Marriage Certificate
A Mapo Grade ‘A’ Customary Court in Ibadan, Oyo State, has sentenced a 50-year-old woman, Bolanle Adeyemo, to one year in a correctional centre for forging and unlawfully possessing a marriage certificate.
The court, however, discharged her on a separate count of conspiracy after considering her guilty plea and the evidence presented by the prosecution.
Delivering judgment on Friday, the President of the court, Mrs S.M. Akintayo, said Bolanle’s conviction on the relevant counts was based on her admission of guilt and the evidence before the court.
Akintayo said the court exercised its discretion in determining the sentence, particularly because the convict pleaded guilty to the charges.
She consequently sentenced Bolanle to one year in the correctional centre on each of counts two and three, relating to unlawful possession and forgery of a marriage certificate.
The court, however, gave her an alternative of one month of community service for the offences.
The case reportedly stemmed from a marital dispute between Bolanle and her husband, 55-year-old Adeboye Adeyemo, who filed a divorce suit against her on March 26.
According to the proceedings, Adeboye sought to dissolve the marriage following disagreements between the couple.
In an apparent attempt to establish that the marriage was legally recognised and should therefore not be dissolved, Bolanle told the court that she had a valid marriage with Adeboye.
She subsequently tendered a marriage certificate before the court as evidence to support her claim.
However, Adeboye challenged the authenticity of the document, insisting that no marriage certificate had been issued to the couple on September 12, 1996, as indicated on the document.
The dispute over the certificate prompted the court to direct the Police to conduct an investigation into its authenticity.
The prosecution, led by Inspector Ayodele Ayeni, told the court that the offence was committed around 9:00 a.m. at Mapo, Ibadan.
Ayeni said investigations subsequently revealed that the Ibadan North Local Government registry, identified on the purported certificate, denied issuing any marriage certificate to Bolanle.
The investigation, according to the prosecutor, established that the document in Bolanle’s possession was fake.
The prosecution maintained that her actions amounted to unlawful possession and forgery of a marriage certificate, offences punishable under Sections 516, 465 and 430 of the Criminal Code, Cap. 38, Volume II, Laws of Oyo State 2000.
The court’s ruling brings an unusual chapter in the couple’s divorce dispute to a close, with a marital disagreement ultimately leading to a criminal conviction over the authenticity of a document presented in court.
Global Mirror News gathered that the case underscores the serious legal consequences that can arise when allegedly falsified documents are presented as evidence in judicial proceedings.
