A UK upper tribunal has overturned a previous decision that halted the deportation of 43-year-old Nigerian national Olutobi Ogunbawo.
Ogunbawo’s deportation was initially stopped after his wife, Maria Adesanya, claimed they would be unable to access in vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment if deported to Nigeria.
Ogunbawo, who is challenging his deportation on human rights grounds, was convicted in 2019 for immigration offences after conspiring with a British citizen to falsely claim paternity. He paid the British citizen to register as the father of his unborn child so his partner could remain in the UK.
After serving a three-year prison sentence, Ogunbawo faced deportation proceedings. In January 2023, a first-tier tribunal judge ruled in his favour, citing the potential impact on Maria’s ability to conceive using IVF, which was claimed to be unavailable in Nigeria.
The UK Home Department contested this ruling, arguing that the tribunal relied solely on Maria’s testimony without adequate evidence. The upper tribunal reviewed the case and, on November 4, 2024, determined that the initial ruling was flawed.
The tribunal noted that the first-tier judge failed to verify Maria’s claims with objective evidence, pointing out that a simple internet search could confirm the availability of IVF in Nigeria.
“We conclude that the judge erred in exclusively relying upon Ms. Adesanya’s personal evidence when finding as a fact that IVF treatment is unavailable in Nigeria,” the judgment stated.
As a result, the upper tribunal set aside the previous decision and ordered the case to be reheard by a different judge. The tribunal upheld the Home Department’s assertion that IVF services are accessible in Nigeria, emphasising that even basic research would confirm this.
Tone Jarvis-Mack, chief executive of the Fertility Foundation Charity, criticised the earlier ruling, calling it “staggering.”
“How can this ruling be justified when so many law-abiding couples in the UK are denied the same opportunity? It’s astonishing that a judge would rely on such claims without basic verification,” he said.
The case will now return to the first-tier tribunal for reconsideration.
