A Nigerian pastor, whose church was closed down amid allegations of £1.87 million fraud, has lost his battle against deportation, despite his claims that it would violate his human rights.
An immigration tribunal has determined that Tobi Adegboyega, 44, a cousin of Star Wars actor John Boyega, should be returned to Nigeria following investigations, including those conducted by The Telegraph, which revealed financial misconduct within his church.
Mr Adegboyega led SPAC Nation, a controversial church that was shut down for failing to account properly for over £1.87 million in expenses and lacking transparency in its operations.
He argued that deportation would infringe upon his right to family life under the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR) since he is married to a British woman. Additionally, he asserted that the Home Office overlooked his community work with SPAC in their efforts to remove him.
Describing him as a “charismatic” community leader of a well-organised church, his legal team claimed he had “intervened in the lives of many hundreds of young people, predominantly from black communities in London, steering them away from trouble.”
He maintained that his efforts had been “lauded” by politicians, including Boris Johnson, and senior figures within the Metropolitan Police, although no formal testimony from them was presented to the court. He contended that without his presence in London, the initiatives he led would either collapse or significantly diminish.
However, the tribunal was informed that the Home Office asserted “all is not as it seems.”
“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.
‘Selling their own blood’
“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 lived in the UK unlawfully since overstaying on a visitor’s visa that allowed him to enter Britain in 2005. In 2019, he 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.
In the tribunal, he maintained no one had ever faced criminal charges over his church’s finances, that many of the attacks on him and SPAC Nation were politically motivated and that claims it was a cult were unfounded.
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 Mr Adegboyega’s evidence to be “hyperbolic in many instances” and 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.”
