An immigration tribunal ruled that Tobi Adegboyega – the cousin of Star Wars actor John Boyega – should be deported back to Nigeria after he was found to be misusing funds by his church
A Nigerian pastor has lost his deportation battle after his church was shut down over an alleged £1.87 million fraud – despite him claiming the move would breach his human rights.
An immigration tribunal ruled that 44-year-old Tobi Adegboyega – the cousin of Star Wars actor John Boyega – should be deported back to Nigeria after he was found to be misusing funds by his church. Mr Adegboyega, head of the controversial SPAC Nation church, failed to properly account for more than £1.87 million of outgoings.
Having married a British woman, he claimed deportation would breach his right under the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR) to a family life, and that the Home Office would be failing to acknowledge his community work with SPAC.
His legal team said the “charismatic” community leader had “intervened in the lives of many hundreds of young people, predominantly from the black communities in London, to lead them away from trouble”.
Mr Adegboyega also claimed praise from politicians like Boris Johnson, as well as senior figures within the Metropolitan Police, but no testimonies were submitted to the court.
But the tribunal was told the Home Office contended “all is not as it seems”. According to judgement: “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.”
Mr Adegboyega has been living in Britain unlawfully after he overstayed on a visitor’s visa which he used to enter the country in 2005.
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”. Mr Adegboyega’s evidence was also found to be “hyperbolic in many instances” and the 44-year-old had “sought to grossly inflate his influence”. “We find it to be implausible that he has the time to undertake all of this work personally,” it said.
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.”
