Nigerian sues UK for denying him entry after landing at Manchester airport

14 Aug Nigerian sues UK for denying him entry after landing at Manchester airport

A Nigerian, Adeyemi Opebiyi, has sued the United Kingdom for allegedly denying him entry into the country after he had been granted a visa and had flown from Nigeria to the Manchester Airport.

Opebiyi, who described himself as the Head of Operations, Sabi Micro Finance Bank Ltd, said on arriving at Manchester Airport on March 14, 2021, he was stopped by the UK Immigration official, who insisted that he must be interviewed before he could be allowed into the UK.

He said he was made to wait for eight hours at the immigration desk before he was eventually interviewed by an Immigration officer, who asked him to draw the logo of Sabi Micro Finance Bank Ltd, among other things, as a way of verifying his claim that he works with the financial institution.

Opebiyi alleged that after drawing the logo as best as he could, the Immigration officer told him that the drawing was not good enough and he would be denied entry into the UK on that basis and related reasons.

He claimed that he was subsequently detained for 10 days before he was finally deported to Nigeria on March 24.

In the suit filed on his behalf by UK-based Nigerian lawyer, Mr Femi Aina, a Senior Consultant Solicitor with Martynsrose Solicitors, UK, Opebiyi is demanding damages for what he termed the unlawful and humiliating treatment meted out to him by the UK Immigration officers.

The suit was filed upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum chamber) UK, with the Secretary of State for Home Department (UK) named as the sole respondent to the suit.