A Nigerian, Adeyemi Opebiyi, has filed a suit against the United Kingdom for allegedly preventing him from entering the country after he had been granted a visa and had flown from Nigeria to the Manchester Airport.
Opebiyi, who claimed to be the Head of Operations, Sabi Micro Finance Bank Ltd, said he was stopped by the UK Immigration officials on arriving at Manchester Airport on March 14, 2021. According to him, immigration officials demanded he must be interviewed before he could be allowed into the UK.
He claimed that 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.
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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.
He said in response to his request for the review of the decision, he got a letter from the UK Home Office, reading: “You were asked to draw Sabi Micro Finance Bank LTD’s logo: What you drew bore little resemblance to the logos found on all the official paperwork you submitted for your visa application.
“Furthermore, you were initially unable to state the correct names of the current Chairperson and Managing Director of Sabi Micro Finance Bank Ltd. This is something a Head of Operations would know. You were also unable to describe the core values and mission of Sabi Micro Finance Bank Ltd as described on its website.”
Opebiyi is suing for 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.
The Punch reports that Opebiyi’s lawyer filed the charges claiming that the respondent’s action is oppressive as it does not have regard for his well-being.
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