Mr. Dele Olawanle, the legal counsel to the luxuriant UK-based Nigerian pastor Tobi Adegboyega, has emphatically stated that the British government has no grounds to deport the cleric to Nigeria.
Reports had swirled that Pastor Tobi Adegboyega was set to be deported following allegations of £1.87 million fraud linked to his church, SPAC Nation.
The UK authorities had earlier shut down SPAC Nation over accusations of lacking financial transparency, with a British newspaper, The Telegraph, claiming that Adegboyega had lost an immigration battle and was ordered to be deported.
Reacting to the report, Olawanle dismissed the claims as baseless and uninformed, describing the publication as “ignorant.”
Taking to X (formerly Twitter), the UK-based lawyer wrote: “People with calls and text messages have inundated me since last night. I could not stop laughing when I read that Tobi Adegboyega faces deportation from the United Kingdom. The newspaper that carried the news was ignorant. I have acted for him as a lawyer on a personal basis and for the ministry. He is not facing deportation from the UK. That is elementary immigration law for journalists. Deportation is for criminals. He is not.”
Olawanle further clarified that while SPAC Nation had faced scrutiny from the courts and the charity commission, Adegboyega himself was never personally implicated or found guilty of any wrongdoing.
He went on to highlight that Adegboyega has resided in the UK for over two decades without a single criminal conviction, adding that he has made “significant contributions to the British community.”
Reflecting on his client’s resilience, Olawanle concluded that Adegboyega, despite facing numerous challenges, remains a victor in the face of adversity.