UK court dismisses Nigerian Pastor Adegboyega’s deportation appeal

Tobi Adegboyega, a Nigerian pastor based in the United Kingdom, has lost his appeal against deportation following allegations of financial misconduct within his church, The Telegraph reports.

Adegboyega, 44, who is also the cousin of Star Wars actor John Boyega, led SPAC Nation, a controversial church that was shut down after failing to properly account for over £1.87 million in financial outgoings.

Investigations into the church’s activities, including reports from The Telegraph, exposed a pattern of financial mismanagement and a lack of transparency, leading to the closure of the organisation.

SPAC Nation, a now-defunct church founded by Adegboyega, was shut down after the Charity Commission found “serious misconduct and/or mismanagement” in its financial dealings.

Allegations from former members described the church as a “cult” that exploited young and vulnerable individuals, coercing them into taking loans, committing benefit fraud, and even selling their blood to make donations.

In his appeal, Adegboyega argued that deportation to Nigeria would violate his human rights, specifically his right to family life, as he is married to a British woman.

He also claimed that his work with SPAC Nation, which focuses on helping vulnerable youth in London, would suffer without his presence.

Adegboyega’s legal team, who painted him as a charismatic community leader,claimed that he had “intervened in the lives of many hundreds of young people, predominantly from the black communities in London, to lead them away from trouble”.

He claimed his work had been “lauded” by politicians including Boris Johnson and senior figures within the Metropolitan Police, although no testimony by them was submitted to the court.

He said that without his personal presence in London, projects that he had masterminded would fall apart or reduce in size.

However, the Home Office contested these claims and told the tribunal “all is not as it seems”.
Former church members accused the church ‘is a cult’ and coercing young people into taking out fraudulent loans and engaging in other illegal activities to fund the church.

“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,” according to the judgment.

“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.”

The tribunal also referenced findings by the Charity Commission, which identified “serious misconduct and/or mismanagement” in the administration of SPAC Nation.

The tribunal dismissed Adegboyega’s appeal, concluding that his family life, established while living unlawfully in the UK, did not outweigh the need for his deportation.

The decision found that his claimed contributions to the community were exaggerated, with the tribunal stating that it was “implausible” that Adegboyega had personally carried out all the work he claimed to have done.

The ruling also noted that Adegboyega had overstayed his visitor’s visa since 2005, living unlawfully and overstaying on a visitor’s visa for nearly two decades.

In 2019, Adegboyega 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.
The tribunal, however, concluded that the decision to refuse his application for leave to remain was “wholly proportionate.”

“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.”

Meanwhile, despite the ruling, Adegboyega’s lawyer, Dele Olawanle, has dismissed the deportation decision as false, stating “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.”

Money lenders like HSBC and Amigo Loans are under fire for failed checks on alleged fraudulent loans believed to be worth millions of pounds as MPs examine the role of lenders in a South London church scandal, The Telegraph reports.

The global bank and high-interest lender came under scrutiny from politicians who attacked the finance industry for “highly questionable” loans linked to the controversial church SPAC Nation.