The British Government is set to deport popular pastor, Tobi Adegboyega, to Nigeria after losing his case against deportation at the immigration tribunal.
It was earlier reported that the UK government had shut down his church, SPAC Nation, after investigations exposed misuse of funds by the church leadership.
It was gathered that the UK authorities closed the church after Adegboyega failed to properly account for more than £1.87 million of outgoings and operating with a lack of transparency.
However, according to The Telegraph, an immigration tribunal ruled that he should be deported back to Nigeria after investigations.
After arriving on a visitor’s visa in 2005, Adegboyega has lived in the UK unlawfully ever since.
In 2019, the pastor applied for leave to remain under ECHR’s right to a family life.
His application was initially dismissed by a first-tier immigration tribunal before he appealed.
Having been married to a British woman, the pastor claimed deportation would breach his right under the European Convention of Human Rights to a family life and failed to consider his community work with SPAC.
His legal team described him as a ‘charismatic’ community leader of a large, well-organised church who had ‘intervened in the lives of many hundreds of young people, predominantly from the black communities in London, to lead them away from trouble’.
Politicians including former Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, and senior figures within the Metropolitan Police had ‘lauded’ his work, he claimed, but no testimony by them was submitted to the court.
However, the Home Office contended ‘all is not as it seems’ and dragged him before an immigration tribunal.
However, according to the judgment as quoted by The Telegraph, the tribunal said evidences against the Nigerian pastor were taken to consideration.
The judgment reads, “Various manifestations of [Mr Adegboyega’s] church have been closed down, by either the Charity Commission or the High Court, because of concerns over its finances and lack of transparency.
“Former members of the church have alleged that it is a cult, in which impoverished young people are encouraged to do anything they can to donate money, including taking out large loans, committing benefit fraud and even selling their own blood.
“It is alleged that the church leadership lead lavish lifestyles and there have, it is said, been instances of abuse. The [Home Office’s] case before us was that all of this needs to be taken into account when evaluating whether [Mr Adegboyega] is in fact of real value to the UK.”
Speaking at the tribunal, Adegboyega said that claims that his church was a cult was unfounded and attacks on him and the church were politically motivated.
He also maintained no one had ever faced criminal charges over his church’s finances, adding that his deportation would breach his human rights.
However, the tribunal was told the Charity Commission concluded “there had been serious misconduct and/or mismanagement in the administration of the charity which was sustained over a substantial period of time.”
The tribunal also found Adegboyega’s evidence to be “hyperbolic in many instances’ and had ‘sought to grossly inflate his influence.”
The tribunal concluded, “We are not satisfied that the good work that SPAC Nation undertakes generally would collapse or even significantly suffer should the appellant be required to leave the UK.
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“Weighing all of the foregoing in the balance we conclude that the decision to refuse leave to remain was wholly proportionate.
“Mr Adegboyega seeks to rely on family and private life relationships, all of which have been established whilst he was in the UK unlawfully, and which would survive his return to Nigeria.
“The interference would therefore be limited, and lawful in all the circumstances.”
Meanwhile, in a statement posted on his X page (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday, Olawanle expressed amusement at the false claims, emphasising that deportation applies only to criminals, adding that Pastor Adegboyega has neither a criminal record nor conviction having lived in the UK for over 20 years and made significant contributions to the community.
The lawyer also clarified that despite facing challenges with the charity commission and the courts over the activities of SPAC NATIONS, Pastor Adegboyega was never personally found guilty of any wrongdoing. The reports were described as “idiocy,” saying it’s based on ignorance of basic immigration laws.
In response to the public outcry and critical comments surrounding the news, the lawyer urged people to refrain from spreading unfounded information.
Olawanle also lamented society’s tendency to revel in others’ misfortune and expressed concern about how quickly individuals, particularly those in the African community, are quick to tear down those who stand out.
The lawyer further stated that as Pastor Adegboyega’s legal representative, he had previously written in support of him during the High Court decisions related to SPAC NATIONS and reiterated that the deportation story is entirely false.
”Deportation is for criminals. He is not. Even though the courts and the charity commission had issues with SPAC NATIONS, he was not personally found guilty of any wrongdoings.
Tobi has lived in the UK for at least 20 years without a criminal conviction. He has contributed significantly to the British community. He has faced many challenges, but he is a winner.
”Many of his adversaries are from the African community. Sensationalism is an act of idiocy. It is not worth the paper it was written on. I read some comments this morning and wondered why people are so quick to make ignorant comments without facts.
”I wondered why there is joy in seeing people go down, including so-called pastors. Society has a big problem, as we cannot handle people who are different and want them to go down.
”We love people who act sheepishly with zombie traits. As his lawyer, I wrote during the High Court decisions on SPAC NATIONS a few years ago. I have said that this latest news on deportation is false, and I will make no further comments on this deportation matter privately or officially.”
