Nigerian pastor Tobi Adegboyega loses deportation fight amid £1.87m fraud allegations

Tobi Adegboyega, a Nigerian pastor and former head of the controversial SPAC Nation church, has lost his appeal against deportation to Nigeria.

An immigration tribunal ruled against Adegboyega, 44, despite his claims that deportation would violate his human rights under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

Adegboyega, a cousin of actor John Boyega, argued that his marriage to a British citizen and his community work should prevent his removal. However, the tribunal found that the Home Office’s decision was justified following investigations, including by The Telegraph, which revealed financial irregularities and a lack of transparency in SPAC Nation’s operations.

The church, which was shut down after failing to account for over £1.87 million, had faced multiple allegations of financial misuse. Despite Adegboyega’s defense, the tribunal ruled that his deportation would not breach his rights.

Describing a “charismatic” community leader of a large, well-organised church, his legal team claimed that he had “intervened in the lives of many hundreds of young people, predominantly from the black communities in London, to lead them away from trouble”.

He claimed his work had been “lauded” by politicians including Boris Johnson and senior figures within the Metropolitan Police, although no testimony by them was submitted to the court. He said that without his personal presence in London, projects that he had masterminded would fall apart or reduce in size.

However, the tribunal was told the Home Office contended “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.”