By Chibuzo Ihegboro
An upper tribunal in the United Kingdom has reversed a previous ruling that stopped the deportation of 43-year-old Nigerian Olutobi Ogunbawo.
The decision comes after his wife, Maria Adesanya, claimed that in vitro fertilisation treatment was unavailable in Nigeria, a key argument in their defence.
Ogunbawo, convicted in 2019 for immigration offences related to conspiring with a British citizen to claim paternity falsely, had served a three-year prison sentence.
Following his release, he faced deportation proceedings. In January 2023, a first-tier tribunal judge ruled in his favour, citing the impact of deportation on his wife’s ability to conceive a child through IVF.
Maria testified that IVF, essential to their efforts to start a family, was not an option in Nigeria.
However, the secretary of state for the Home Department challenged this claim, arguing that the tribunal’s reliance on her testimony lacked supporting evidence.
The upper tribunal reviewed the case and, on November 4, 2024, ruled that the initial decision was flawed.
It was found that the first-tier tribunal judge failed to seek objective evidence to verify Maria’s assertion.
The upper tribunal noted that a simple internet search could confirm the availability of IVF services in Nigeria, undermining the couple’s argument.
