A high-profile deportation battle is unfolding in the United Kingdom, with Nigerian pastor Tobi Adegboyega at its center.
The founder of SPAC Nation church has been embroiled in a controversy surrounding his immigration status and alleged financial impropriety.
In a BBC interview on Friday, Adegboyega attributed his nearly decade-long overstay in the UK to losing track of time.
“I lost track of time,” Adegboyega said, referring to his failure to regularize his immigration status after arriving in the UK on a visitor’s visa in 2005. The 44-year-old pastor claimed that he had assumed his family was handling his immigration paperwork.
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Adegboyega’s immigration woes are compounded by allegations of a £1.87 million fraud, which have led to a deportation order. However, the charismatic preacher has dismissed the allegations, stating, “There is no deportation order, let me make that clear.” Adegboyega described the case as an “ongoing issue” and emphasized that the decision on his fate rests with the judges.
The pastor attributed the allegations of fraud to “disgruntled members” of his church. “How on earth do you run an organisation without disgruntled people?” he asked. Adegboyega highlighted his church’s contributions to the community, including initiatives to tackle gun violence and remove hundreds of knives from the streets.
Adegboyega’s lavish lifestyle has also drawn criticism, with the pastor frequently sporting luxury items. In response, he said, “I put on what is right, what connects to the generation I’m speaking to, so they are not attracted to drug dealers.”
The UK’s immigration tribunal has rejected Adegboyega’s appeals, citing his unlawful stay in the UK and exaggeration of his community work claims. The tribunal described Adegboyega’s claims as “hyperbolic” and unsupported by substantive evidence.
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