Tobi Adegboyega, a Nigerian-born pastor whose congregation was closed down in the United Kingdom due to an alleged £1.87 million (N4 billion) fraud, has lost his struggle against deportation, despite accusations that it would violate his human rights.
Following investigations that exposed the church’s financial mismanagement, an immigration panel has ruled that the clergyman—who is a relative of movie star John Boyega—should be sent back to Nigeria.
Adegboyega was the head of the controversial Salvation Proclaimers Anointed Church Nation Ministries, which was shut down for operating without accountability and improperly accounting for over £1.87 million in outgoings.
He argued that because he had married a British woman, deportation would breach his right to a family life under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). He added that his community service with Salvation Proclaimers Anointed Church Nation Ministries was not taken into account by the Home Office when they attempted to remove him.
Adegboyega’s defence team describes him as a charismatic community leader of a huge, well-organised church who has intervened in the lives of hundreds of young people, primarily from London’s black areas, to steer them away from danger.
They claim his work has been praised by politicians such as former Prime Minister Boris Johnson and prominent members of the Metropolitan Police. He stated that without his personal presence in London, the projects he had spearheaded would fall apart or shrink in size. However, the tribunal was informed that the Home Office believes all is not as it appears. According to the judgment:
“Various manifestations of 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.
“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 Adegboyega is in fact of real value to the UK.”
