A UK upper tribunal has reversed an earlier ruling halting the deportation of Olutobi Ogunbawo, a 43-year-old Nigerian, after his wife, Maria Adesanya, claimed in vitro fertilisation (IVF) was unavailable in Nigeria.
Ogunbawo, convicted in 2019 for immigration-related offenses, had initially avoided deportation when Maria argued that removing him would prevent their chances of having a child. She testified that IVF, crucial for their attempts to conceive, was unavailable in Nigeria, a claim accepted by the first-tier tribunal.
In January 2023, Judge Malone ruled that deporting Ogunbawo would cause undue hardship for the couple, blocking his removal.
However, the home department secretary appealed, questioning the credibility of Maria’s claim about IVF availability.
The case was referred to the upper tribunal, which reviewed the decision. On November 4, 2024, the tribunal found the first-tier tribunal had made an error by accepting Maria’s testimony without independent evidence to support her claims. The upper tribunal noted that a basic search would have shown that IVF services are available in Nigeria, undermining the couple’s argument.
The judgment stated: “The judge erred by relying solely on Ms. A’s personal testimony without objective evidence on IVF availability in Nigeria.”
It continued: “Although it may have been Maria’s subjective view, the judge needed to verify if IVF treatment is available in Nigeria, rather than accepting her unproven claim.”
The Secretary of State’s unchallenged claim that IVF is available in Nigeria was backed by a simple online search.
The tribunal allowed the appeal, set aside the first-tier tribunal’s decision, and ordered a new hearing with a different judge.
Ogunbawo, convicted of conspiring to facilitate unlawful immigration, served a three-year prison sentence and remains entangled in deportation proceedings.
