FORGERY:
Nigerian Asylum-seeking lady, OSAMUDIAMEN OGIE pleads guilty to using stolen Irish passport to gain entry into Dublin
…says she fled persecution in Nigeria after experiencing gender and sexuality-based violence
*Hide Nigerian passport to cover true identity, agreed guilty to crime
*Charged under Irish Passports Act and Theft and Fraud Act, arrived Dublin on a Turkish Airlines flight from Istanbul
*Court heard this was the suspect’s first time to enter the State, sparing criminal conviction and jail sentence
*“This 26-year-old Nigerian suspect had no prior criminal convictions and I have applied the Probation of Offenders Act on this case”-Judge Kelly, Dublin District Court
*BY DAVID IBITE/SPECIAL Immigration Correspondent, Dublin & GEORGE ELIJAH OTUMU/AMERICAN Senior Investigative Editor
A NIGERIAN lady, OSAMUDIAMEN OGIE, a 26-year-old asylum seeker who entered Dublin aboard a Turkish airline used a stolen Irish passport as a form of identity. She was promptly arrested by Customs and Immigration, handed over to the police for prosecution. She claimed during investigation that she fled Africa’s most populous black nation after experiencing gender and sexuality-based violence, as a hidden Nigerian passport was found on her.
This Nigerian women used Irish passport in the name of another person to gain entry and claim asylum, court heard
An asylum-seeker who claimed she used a stolen passport to get to Ireland after fleeing persecution and gender-based violence has avoided a criminal conviction and a jail sentence.
Osamudiamen, with an address at Shangan Road, Ballymun, Dublin, pleaded guilty to using a stolen passport.
Dublin District Court heard Ms Ogie produced an Irish passport when she arrived in Dublin on a Turkish Airlines flight from Istanbul on September 10, 2021.
Judge Treasa Kelly heard the Irish passport was in the name of another person, and she used it to gain entry and claim asylum. Her Nigerian passport was also on her at the time.
The arresting garda agreed with the defence that people often arrive in that manner to apply for asylum.
In a plea for leniency, the court heard Ms Ogie was “fleeing persecution” in her country and had experienced gender and sexuality-based violence.
Her solicitor said that the agricultural science graduate has a good chance of being granted protection in Ireland.
The court heard this was her first time to enter the State, and she co-operated with gardaí.
Judge Kelly noted she had no prior criminal convictions and applied the Probation of Offenders Act.
The charges were contrary to the Passports Act and Theft and Fraud Act.
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