UK tribunal rejects couple’s plea for mercy, orders deportation of 43-year-old Nigerian

An upper tribunal in the United Kingdom has ordered the deportation of Olutobi Ogunbawo, a 43-year-old Nigerian who has been on trial in the United Kingdom since 2019.

The 43-year-old has been on trial since 2019 for immigration offences and served three years in prison.

Ogunbawo and his wife, Maria Adesanya, a British Citizen, had sought the court’s mercy and pleaded with them not to deport him.

The couple cited the unavailability of the in vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment in Nigeria as a key argument in their defence.

They told the court that they were looking to start a family, but the absence of this treatment in Nigeria and his deportation would hinder their chances of conceiving a child through IVF.

A first-tier tribunal judge ruled in their favour, but the secretary of state for the Home Department challenged their claim and argued that the tribunal’s reliance on the couple’s testimony lacked supporting evidence.

Ogunbanwo’s case was reviewed. On November 4, 2024, the tribunal ruled that the initial decision was flawed.

It noted that a simple Google search on the availability of the IVF treatment in Nigeria could easily prove the couple’s claim.

According to a Daily Mail publication, the upper tribunal concluded that the judge erred in relying upon the couple’s claim.

“We conclude that the judge erred in exclusively relying upon Ms A’s (referring to Maria) personal evidence when finding as a fact that IVF treatment is unavailable in Nigeria,” the upper tribunal ruled.

“We observe the Secretary of State’s unchallenged assertion before us that even the most basic Google search reveals the existence of IVF treatment in Nigeria.”