Lola Akinlade, a Nigerian woman, and her family are at risk of being deported from Canada because she unknowingly used a fake university acceptance letter to secure her study and work permits. Lola, who graduated from Nova Scotia Community College in 2019, explained to CBC News that she was unaware the letter provided by an agent in Lagos for the University of Regina in 2016 was fraudulent.
Just weeks before her graduation, Lola received a letter from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) stating that one of the documents she used to enter Canada in 2016 was fake. This revelation left Lola and her family without immigration status in Canada and little to fall back on if they return to Nigeria.
Lola explained that she was devastated upon discovering the fake document, describing it as the beginning of her trauma. Statistics from IRCC show that Lola’s case is not unique; since December 2023, over 9,000 fake acceptance letters have been discovered.
Lola is pleading with IRCC to reexamine her case, arguing she was a victim of a rogue agent. She said she started thinking about studying in Canada in 2015 while working for a pharmaceutical company in Lagos. She met an agent who promised to help her become an international student. Lola provided the agent with her documents and payment, and he eventually gave her a study permit, plane tickets, and an acceptance letter to the University of Regina.
Upon arriving in Canada in December 2016, Lola was informed by the agent that there were no spaces available at the university, and she would be put on a waitlist. Determined to study, Lola searched for a new school and was accepted at Nova Scotia Community College for social services, starting in September 2017.
It wasn’t until two years later, after receiving the letter from IRCC, that Lola contacted the University of Regina and learned the acceptance letter was fake. Since then, she has had little contact with the agent in Nigeria.
The agent, Babatunde Isiaq Adegoke, claimed he got the acceptance letter from a company called Success Academy Education Consult, which has since moved to an unknown location. Despite his surprise at the fake letter, Adegoke denied telling Lola about the waitlist at the University of Regina.
Lola’s situation worsened when she lost her study permit and was denied a post-graduate work permit and temporary resident permit. Her husband, Samson, and their eight-year-old son, David, joined her in Nova Scotia in 2018, but they have also lost their temporary resident status. Their younger son, born in Canada in 2021, is a citizen but does not have medical coverage due to his parents’ status.
The family has been asked to leave Canada voluntarily, and they are unable to work or attend school. They have been surviving on their savings, which are quickly depleting. Lola mentioned that they sold their home in Nigeria to fund her Canadian tuition.
Lola’s lawyer, Amanat Sandhu, is filing a humanitarian application for the family to stay in Canada. Sandhu noted that it is common for rogue agents to provide immigrants with bad information, leading to situations like Lola’s. Canadian schools are also concerned about these agents, as they have seen cases where students believe they are enrolled when they are not.
