Lamin Sillah, 28, was shot to death at RC Petroleum on Sept. 4, in the Bronx, New York area by a

bike-riding thug who opened fire when Lamin grabbed for the gun.

“I want the killer to be punished. It’s good the police caught the killer,” Sillah’s wife, Mariama

Dampha, told reporters in a phone interview from Gambia. “That’s really good news for me.

The best thing is for justice to be done.”

But the grieving widow said no punishment will ever fill the hole left in her heart. “Even if

justice is done, at the end of the day, I lost a very loving husband,” Dampha said. “I lost my

husband under very stupid circumstances. Yes, there is justice to be done to the killer-life in jail

for him.”

Hard working Sillah moved to New York late last year. He toiled on the night shifts in low-paying

jobs, so he could send money to his wife, parents and two siblings in Gambia. By day, he

attended school studying for an accounting degree. He had worked as an accountant in his

homeland. Dampha said she is studying in Gambia to be a nurse, using the money that Sillah

sent.

Sillah’s body was flown to his native country, where he was buried in his home village. “I cannot

afford to come to the trial for the killer,” Dampha said. “I am having financial and emotional

difficulties coping.”

“I think about the time we spent together. He was caring, loving, even though we got married

eight months ago. It was so sudden, he left after eight months of marriage – he had just got his

green card. He was processing papers for me to come to New York City and live with him.”

NIGERIAN COUPLE IN BENEFIT FRAUD.

Ovo Mayomi, 44, claimed he was earning 700 pounds a month and living in Croydon, South

London. His wife Juliet Ubiribo, 32, told benefit bosses she was a single mum so she could claim

housing and council tax benefit. She also asked the council to rehouse her because she was a

victim of domestic violence – but the phone number she gave revealed her landlord, Ayiomike

Neburagho, was really her husband Mayomi using a false identity.

Fraud investigators discovered he owns a large luxury house in Nigeria worth more than

A million pounds and boasting chandelier and 89,000 pounds worth of sound equipment. He

also wore a 25,000 pounds watch and his wife drove a Mercedes Sport Coupe. A judge has now

ordered Mayomi to pay 1,197,743 pounds in a confiscation order- or face six years in prison.

The proceeds of Crime Act allows the court to seize assets even if it doesn’t have enough

evidence of criminal activity to secure a conviction. He also owns two-money transfer

businesses and bank accounts, investigators also discovered Mayomi owns a fish farm in his

country, Nigeria.

Mayomi was charged with nine counts of theft, one count of fraud, four immigration offences,

and one count of perjury for entering into a false marriage using a false identity. They pleaded

guilty to all charges and Mayomi will be in  jail for 30 months, while Ubiribo was sentenced to 12

months in prison suspended for two years.

“As a result of our investigator’s fine work, the council expects to be able to claim back as much

as 400,000 pounds in taxpayers’ money as a result of a major confiscation order of this nature.”

An official said, and he also added, “This case should serve as a clear warning that crime does

not pay.”

Olakunle O. Bolarinwa,

Is a Nightline Family Member Of The Voice Of America {VOA}.

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