The British Government is set to deport popular pastor Tobi Adegboyega to Nigeria after losing his case against deportation at the immigration tribunal.
The UK government had previously shut down his church, SPAC Nation, after investigations revealed a misuse of funds by the church leadership.
It was reported that UK authorities closed the church after Adegboyega failed to properly account for more than £1.87 million in outgoings and operated with a lack of transparency.
According to The Telegraph, an immigration tribunal ruled that Adegboyega should be deported back to Nigeria after investigations.
Adegboyega, who arrived in the UK on a visitor’s visa in 2005, has lived in the country unlawfully ever since.
In 2019, the pastor applied for leave to remain under the European Convention on Human Rights’ (ECHR) 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, Adegboyega claimed that deportation would violate his right to a family life under the ECHR and that the authorities had failed to consider his community work with SPAC Nation.
His legal team described him as a “charismatic” community leader of a large, well-organized 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.”
Adegboyega also claimed that politicians, including former Prime Minister Boris Johnson and senior figures within the Metropolitan Police, had “lauded” his work, although no testimony from them was submitted to the court.
However, the Home Office argued that “all is not as it seems” and brought him before an immigration tribunal.
According to the tribunal’s judgment, as quoted by The Telegraph, evidence against Adegboyega was taken into account.
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.”
During the tribunal, Adegboyega argued that the claims of his church being a cult were unfounded and that attacks on him and his church were politically motivated. He also maintained that no one had ever faced criminal charges related to his church’s finances and argued that his deportation would violate his human rights.
However, the tribunal was informed that the Charity Commission had 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 that he 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.
“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.”
