UK court overturns ruling blocking deportation of Nigerian man after IVF claim

A UK upper tribunal has overturned a decision that halted the deportation of Olutobi Ogunbawo, a 43-year-old Nigerian, after his wife, Maria Adesanya, claimed that in vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment was unavailable in Nigeria.

Ogunbawo, who was convicted in 2019 for immigration-related offenses, had previously avoided deportation when his wife successfully argued in a first-tier tribunal that removing him from the UK would deprive them of their chance to have a child. Maria testified that IVF, which they required for conception, was not available in Nigeria, and the tribunal accepted this claim.

In January 2023, Judge Malone of the first-tier tribunal ruled that deporting Ogunbawo would cause the couple undue hardship and blocked the deportation. However, the Home Secretary challenged the ruling, questioning the credibility of Maria’s claim about IVF availability. The case was then referred to the upper tribunal for further review.

On November 4, 2024, the upper tribunal ruled that the first-tier tribunal had erred in accepting Maria’s testimony without independent evidence to support her claim. The tribunal noted that a simple online search would have revealed that IVF services are in fact available in Nigeria, undermining the basis of the couple’s argument.

The judgment stated, “We conclude that the judge erred in relying solely on Ms. A’s (Maria’s) personal testimony when determining that IVF treatment is unavailable in Nigeria.” The upper tribunal emphasized that the first-tier tribunal should have considered objective evidence to assess whether IVF treatment was truly inaccessible in Nigeria.

Furthermore, the Secretary of State’s unchallenged assertion that IVF clinics exist in Nigeria was supported by the fact that a basic Google search could confirm the availability of such services. The upper tribunal upheld the Home Secretary’s appeal and ruled that the first-tier tribunal’s decision should be set aside. The case will now be reconsidered by a different judge.

Ogunbawo was convicted of conspiring to facilitate unlawful immigration by paying a British citizen to falsely claim paternity of his child. After serving a three-year prison sentence, he has remained entangled in deportation proceedings.