Canada to deport Nigerian activist after 14 years

A Nigerian migrant rights leader, Olukunle Adetunji, is set to be deported by the Canadian authorities despite many attempts to regularise his status.

The Nigerian who has been freed from immigration detention in Canada for almost a decade could be deported to Nigeria over illegal stay.

A Canadian media platform, City News, reported on Wednesday that Adetunji said his planned deportation by the North American country was considered “worse than being behind bars.”

He visited Canada in 2012 and decided to stay, married his wife, Kimora, in 2014.

Adetunji was deported to Nigeria the same year and remained there for two years until he allegedly returned to Canada in 2016 by illegal means.

He and his wife decided he would apply to stay in Canada on compassionate grounds and they could finally be together again but the authorities arrested him.

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He was initially detained at the Maplehurst Correctional Centre for about a month, then to Lindsay for a few months, then to a facility in Scarborough and finally to Toronto’s Immigration Holding Centre.

He was later released trying to regularise his status but the news of his deportation was shared recently.

“I’ve been taken away from my three boys. I made them promise that I’d never leave them. And, for me to break that promise is…I don’t know, I can’t break that promise,” Adetunji said.

As the Canadian authorities prepared to send him back to Nigeria, Adetunji claimed that he had no family in his home country.

“I have no ties with Nigeria. I don’t have a place to stay. It’s like a death sentence,” he added.

Biodun Busari is a journalist at Punch Newspapers with five years of experience reporting on human interest, crime, diaspora issues, and feature storytelling. He focuses on producing engaging, informative stories that enlighten the public and provide context on complex topics. Biodun’s work demonstrates hands-on newsroom experience and a strong commitment to accurate, purpose-driven journalism.

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