AGS NEWS – A Nigerian woman, Lola Akinlade, and her family face deportation from Canada after it was discovered she used a fake university acceptance letter to obtain a study and work permit.

Akinlade, who graduated from Nova Scotia Community College in 2019, told CBS News she was unaware that the acceptance letter for the University of Regina, provided by an agent in Lagos in 2016, was fraudulent.

A few weeks before her graduation, Akinlade received a letter from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) stating that one of her entry documents from 2016 was fake and asked her to explain.

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She claimed she was unaware of the issue until informed by IRCC, leaving her and her family in Canada with no immigration status.

Since IRCC began screening international student acceptance letters in December 2023, over 9,000 fake letters have been discovered, indicating that Akinlade’s case is not unique.

She urges IRCC to reexamine her case, arguing she was a victim of a rogue agent who supplied the fake letter.

Akinlade first considered studying in Canada in 2015 while working in Lagos.

She met with an immigration consultant who offered to guide her through the process, but she did not discuss a specific university with him.

She provided the agent with necessary documents and payments, and received a study permit, plane tickets, and an acceptance letter to the University of Regina.

Upon arrival in Canada in December 2016, Akinlade was informed by the agent that there were no spaces available at the University of Regina, forcing her to find another school.

She eventually enrolled at Nova Scotia Community College for social services starting in September 2017.

Akinlade did not contact the University of Regina until 2019, when she received the IRCC letter confirming the acceptance letter was fake.

CBC communicated with Babatunde Isiaq Adegoke, the agent who handled Akinlade’s application.

Adegoke admitted to providing the acceptance letter but claimed it was sourced from a company called Success Academy Education Consult.

He denied knowledge of the letter being fake and said he no longer offers study permit services.

Due to the fake letter, Akinlade lost her study permit and was denied a post-graduate work permit and temporary resident permit. Her husband, Samson, and their son, David, who joined her in Nova Scotia in 2018, have also lost their temporary resident status. Their younger son, born in Canada in 2021, lacks medical coverage due to his parents’ status. The family has been asked to leave Canada voluntarily and cannot work or attend school.

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Akinlade and her husband sold their home in Nigeria to fund her Canadian education and worked as caregivers in Nova Scotia before losing their status.

They are filing a humanitarian application to stay in Canada. Akinlade’s lawyer, Amanat Sandhu, highlighted the prevalence of rogue agents providing immigrants with bad information, leading to situations like Akinlade’s.

Canadian schools are also concerned about these agents, as some students have arrived believing they were enrolled when they were not.