A United Kingdom upper tribunal has overturned a previous ruling that prevented the deportation of Olutobi Ogunbawo, a 43-year-old Nigerian national convicted of immigration offenses. The tribunal’s decision follows a reassessment of claims made by his wife, Maria Adesanya, regarding the unavailability of in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment in Nigeria.
Ogunbawo was convicted in 2019 for conspiring with a British citizen to falsely claim paternity and served a three-year prison sentence. After his release, he faced deportation proceedings.
In January 2023, a first-tier tribunal judge halted Ogunbawo’s deportation, accepting Maria’s testimony that deportation would disrupt their efforts to conceive a child through IVF, which she claimed was inaccessible in Nigeria.
However, the UK Home Department appealed, arguing that Maria’s statement lacked evidence. The upper tribunal reviewed the case and ruled on November 4, 2024, that the initial decision was flawed. The tribunal criticized the first-tier judge for relying solely on Maria’s testimony without seeking objective verification of her claim.
“The judge erred in exclusively relying upon Ms. A’s [Maria’s] personal evidence when finding as a fact that IVF treatment is unavailable in Nigeria,” the upper tribunal noted, adding that even a simple internet search would confirm the existence of IVF services in Nigeria.
The tribunal annulled the earlier decision and ordered the case to be reheard by a different judge, stating:
“The Secretary of State’s appeal is allowed to the extent that the decision of the First-tier Tribunal is set aside in its entirety. The appeal is to be remitted to the First-tier Tribunal to be heard by any judge other than First-tier Tribunal Judge Malone.”
This ruling marks a significant development in Ogunbawo’s deportation case, emphasizing the importance of substantiating claims with evidence in immigration proceedings.
Keywords: UK tribunal reverses deportation ruling, Nigerian deportation case, Olutobi Ogunbawo, IVF availability in Nigeria, immigration appeal.
