A Nigerian groom has been jailed for 12  months for a sham marriage where he picked Celine Dion’s song ‘The first time  ever I saw your face’ to march down the aisle.

Hull University masters student Jayeola  Abiola, 29, needed to marry to stay in the UK, and paid Portuguese Vania  Pinheiro-Fernandes, 29, to be his bride.

They met for the first time at their dress  rehearsal and he stumbled to pronounce her name.

Vania Pinheiro-Fernandes (right) bought her dress,  tiara, wedding veil, and flowers from British Home Stores in Leeds for £245 with  the groom, Jayeola Abiola (left) watching

Vania Pinheiro-Fernandes (far right) at a BHS store in  Leeds in November last year when the defendants purchased a wedding  dress

So when it came to the big day he ordered:  ‘The first time ever I saw your face’ as the soft love tune to be blasted out on  loud speakers in Hull’s Guildhall to cement their bogus life together.

Vania Pinheiro-Fernandes bought her dress,  tiara, wedding veil, and flowers from British Home Stores in Leeds for £245 with  the groom watching, Hull Crown Court heard.

She had bought the dress two hours before the  ceremony and still had 60 miles to drive down the M62.

Leeds law student Ayodeji Abbis, 25, was paid  £1,000 to act as the best man.  He was one of six people who turned up for the  ceremony.

But the wedding plans turn sour. Officers of  the UK Border Agency had been tipped off by the Hull Registrar that the couple  seemed to barely know each other when they were interviewed at the rehearsal.

So Border Agency secretly filmed a wedding  video of the cars, groom, bride and best man arriving outside the grand 19th  century council town hall before arresting them at the door.

Jailing the bride and groom today at Hull  Crown Court Gurdial Singh said: ‘It is often said sham marriages are too  prevalent and strike at the heart of the immigration system.

‘Deterrent sentenced are called for and  custodial sentences are inevitable.

‘You Abiola were in danger of becoming unable  to stay in this country. It was ultimately a sham marriage and you were prepared  to pay for it.

‘It was not a question of family and friends  wishing to indulge love, to do you a favour.

‘You Pinheiro-Fernandes played your part and  were to be the bride. You went along with this and bought the dress turning up  at the ceremony.’

He said Pinheiro-Fernandes, a former  air-steward, should be jailed for eight months because she played a lesser  roll.

Abiola, 29, of Hull, and  Pinheiro-Fernandes,  29, of Park Hotel Manchester, appeared for sentence  after pleading guilty to  conspiracy to breach immigration law by  arranging a marriage so Abiola could  remain in the UK.

The marriage was to cost £5,000. Around  £2,500 was paid in advance and the rest was to be paid on completion.

Crown barrister David Bradshaw said Jayeole  Abiola was a Nigerian student in  Hull and his visa was due to expire a few days  after the marriage.  Knowing his visa was due to expire he paid Abiola Kumoye to  arrange a  sham marriage. Portugal being a member state of the EU entitled him  to  citizenship.

Abiola Kumoye (right) has pleaded guilty to conspiracy  to breach immigration law acquiring criminal property while Ayodeji Abbis (left)  was found guilty of the conspiracy

‘It was fake because he did not know her,’  said Mr Bradshaw.

‘He was not in love with her. He didn’t want  to set up a loving family unit. He did it because he wanted to stay in the UK.  The bride and the organizers stood to gain because they were being paid for  their services.’

He said the Registrar Callum McDonald first  became suspicious of the marriage at a meeting into the Wilson Centre in Hull on  October 16.

It was to be a formal check of birth  certificates, documents, passport, immigration documents and opportunity to pay  the deposit.

‘The groom gave his proper name, but the  bride gave a fake name when they spoke to the registrar,’ said Mr  Bradshaw.

‘The bride did not want to be married in  her  real name. The registrar was suspicious because the bride didn’t  look like her  picture in the passport. He asked them both some  questions. They were not very  convincing in their answers.’

He said they filled out a Registrar’s choice  form giving details of music and readings for the ceremony.

‘There was to be music for the bride to walk  into,’ said Mr Bradshaw. ‘The song to be played first was Celine Dion’s: ‘The  First Time ever I saw your face. It was quite apt.’

A poem was to be read by Mr Abbis. There was  music for signing the register and music for leaving the room to.

Recorder Singh adjourned sentence for a  report on marriage fixer Abiola Kumoye, 34, of Manchester.

He has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to breach  immigration law acquiring criminal property £2,650 the first part of the fee for  the sham marriage.

The judge also adjourned sentence on best  man Ayodeji Abbis, 25, of Hunslet, who was found guilty of the conspiracy and  received £1,000 for his trouble.

Det Sgt Andy Norris of the UK Border Agency  said sham marriages have grown considerably in the country but the problem has  only recently come to light in Hull. ‘People who think they can use Hull in this  way will need to think again.

‘We are working to tackle this problem head  on. We will find and arrest anyone carrying out these crimes, no matter where  they are in the country.’

Mr Norris said there are benefits to all  parties involved with arranging these scams.

‘A lot of sham marriages are arranged to  allow people to stay in the country legally and that is the major reason people  try to arrange these and why people are willing to act illegally to do so,’ he  said.

‘Criminals who organise these fake weddings  do so for a monetary benefit, sometimes thousands of pounds, and our worries are  that the money raised from this could be used to possibly fund other areas of  crime.

‘Fake passports and documentation are used  to try and pull the wool over the authority’s eyes.

‘They often involve non-EU citizens who seek  illegal assistance to get married in order to stay in this country.’

Read more: DailyMail