An immigration tribunal in the UK has ordered the deportation of a flamboyant Nigerian pastor, Tobi Adegboyega, whose church was shut down over an alleged £1.87 million fraud despite claiming human rights breach.
Mr Adegboyega, head of SPAC Nation, lost the deportation battle after investigations exposed misuse of funds by his controversial church.
“Various manifestations of his church have been closed down, by either the Charity Commission or the High Court, because of concerns over its finances and lack of transparency,” the tribunal noted, stating the church’s leadership’s flamboyant lifestyles are instances of abuse.
It added, “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.”
Meanwhile, Mr Adegboyega claimed that deportation would breach his rights under the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR) to a family life, having married a British woman.
The pastor added that the attempt to remove him by the Home Office did not take into account his community work with SPAC, adding his work was lauded by prominent politicians and individuals such as former Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
His legal team spoke highly of Mr Adegboyega’s work, saying he “intervened in the lives of many hundreds of young people, predominantly from the black communities in London, to lead them away from trouble.”
However, the tribunal found Mr Adegboyega’s evidence to be “hyperbolic in many instances,” saying it 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,” said the tribunal. “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.”
