4th December 2024
By Idris Buba
A popular Nigeria born, UK based Pastor, Tobi Adegboyega, is at the verge of being deported by the British government after losing his case at the immigration tribunal.
His church, Salvation Proclaimers Anointed Church, SPAC Nation, had earlier been shut down by the UK government after investigations exposed a misuse of funds by the church leadership.
The UK authorities closed the church after Adegboyega was unable to properly account for more than £1.87 million of outgoings and operating funds.
According to a UK newspaper, an immigration tribunal ruled that he should be deported back to Nigeria after investigations.
Tobi Adegboyega, arrived UK on a visitor’s visa in 2005 and has lived there unlawfully ever since.
In 2019, the pastor applied for leave to remain under European Convention of Human Rights, ECHR’s right to a family life, his application was initially dismissed by a first-tier immigration tribunal before he appealed.
Adegboyega, who is married to a British woman, claimed deportation would breach his right under the ECHR’s to a family life and failed to consider his community work with SPAC.
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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, but the Home Office contended ‘all is not as it seems’ and dragged him before an immigration tribunal.
According to the judgment as quoted by a UK newspaper, 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.”
Adegboyega, who spoke at.tribunal said that claims that his chruch was a cult was unfounded and the attacks on him and the church were politically motivated.
He also explained that no one had ever faced criminal charges over his church’s finances and emphasized that his deportation would breach his human rights.
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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.
“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.
