A convicted Nigerian criminal successfully evaded deportation from the UK after claiming that he is bisexual just hours before he was set to be kicked out of the country.
The unnamed man was convicted of fraud in 2015 and was sentenced to five and a half years in prison after arriving in the country as a student in 2006.
The Home Office began deportation proceedings against him in 2016, which were delayed by the migrant launching human rights claims in two judicial reviews.
His initial asylum claims were shot down by a judge, however, The Sun reported on Sunday that in January of 2019 — just hours before his scheduled deportation — the migrant claimed that he was bisexual and could not live openly without repercussions in Nigeria.
The criminal claimed that he had been subject to abuse at university and later in prison as a result of his sexuality. The Nigerian said that he was convinced to disclose his sexuality after discussions with a welfare officer and other detainees.
The Home Office claimed that he was lying, as he had never mentioned his sexuality in the years of court appeals, yet an immigration judge granted the Nigerian criminal asylum.
Commenting on the case, Conservative MP Nigel Mills said: “It’s the most ridiculous case I have ever heard.”
“Every convicted criminal will be trying this now,” Mills warned.
Judges in the UK have often blocked the deportation of foreign criminals on the grounds that they may receive harsh treatment if returned to their homeland.
In February, for example, a judge had blocked the deportation of a double rapist, who posed a “high risk of serious harm” to the public, because he would not be able to receive proper mental healthcare in his native Somalia.
Last year, a judge in Scotland also quashed the removal of a Taliban fighter in June, after the terrorist claimed he suffered from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) as a result of fighting for the Islamist terrorist group and would not receive adequate mental health care in Afganistan.
Despite sweeping to victory in the 2019 general election, securing an eighty seat majority, the Conservative government under Prime Minister Boris Johnson has so far failed to introduce any legislative fix to the broken asylum system.
On Sunday, a spokesman for Priti Patel’s Home Office said: “Later this year the Government will legislate to fix the broken asylum system to make it firm and fair.”
Patel has often espoused tough rhetoric on immigration, however, under her leadership, Home Office deportations fell by 79 per cent last year.
Follow Kurt Zindulka on Twitter here @KurtZindulka
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.