Nigerian pastor Tobi Adegboyega, popularly known as Pastor Tobi has lost his fight against deportation from the UK. 

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An immigration tribunal ruling found that the 44-year-old had misused funds through his church, accusations easy to believe in light of the Pastors lavish lifestyle. Pastor Tobi was the head of SPAC Nation, a controversial but popular church that was ultimately shut down in 2022 after failing to properly account for more than £1.87 million of outgoings and operating with a lack of financial transparency. The majority of the church's income did not even go through a bank account. 

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 The ruling further added that the controversial church leader should be deported back to his native Nigeria, which the pastor claims would breach his human rights (under the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR) to a family life) as he is married to a British woman. However, his 2019 application for leave to remain was initially rejected by an immigration tribunal. 

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During the hearing, the flamboyant pastor was described by his lawyers as a “charismatic leader” who helped positively steer young people and emphasised community development. They added that his many community projects would be destroyed by his absence or at the very least deflated. The tribunal were a less receptive ear than the pastor has become accustomed to, as they returned that this was an attempt to “grossly inflate his influence”. 

The Telegraph reported that during the hearing Adegboyega claimed his work had been “lauded” by figures such as Boris Johnson and senior members of the Metropolitan Police. However, no testimonies nor evidence were presented to the court.

One of Tobi’s (previous) lawyers Dele Olawanle, who is as non-traditional a lawyer as Tobi is a pastor - took to Twitter to dispel rumours of deportation, claiming it’s for criminals:

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I could not stop laughing when I read that Tobi Adegboyega faces deportation from the United Kingdom. 

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“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 laws for journalists. 

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Deportation is for criminals. He is not… He was not personally found guilty of any wrongdoings.”

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Olawanle added:

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“Many of [the Pastors] adversaries are from the African community.”

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Despite his lawyers claims, several independent entities have found SPAC Nation guilty of mismanagement to some extent, including a Charity Commission investigation which concluded: 

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“There had been serious misconduct and/or mismanagement in the administration of the charity which was sustained over a substantial period of time.”

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Pastor Tobi has lived in the UK unlawfully since overstaying a visitor’s visa he received in 2005. 

After the pastors tumultuous 20 years in the UK, the immigration tribunal returned the following judgement:

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“We are not satisfied that the good work SPAC Nation undertakes generally would collapse or even significantly suffer should the Appellant be required to leave the UK…

(Mr. Adegboyega) seeks to rely on family and private life relationships, all of which were established while he was in the UK unlawfully and which would survive his return to Nigeria. The interference would therefore be limited and lawful in all the circumstances.”

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