A UK upper tribunal has overturned an earlier 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 initially avoided deportation when his wife, Maria Adesanya, argued successfully before a first-tier tribunal that removing him from the UK would extinguish her chances of having a child.
Maria had testified that IVF treatment, essential for their efforts to conceive, was unavailable in Nigeria, a claim the tribunal accepted.
However, the secretary of state for the home department challenged this decision, questioning the credibility of the claim about IVF availability.
On November 4, 2024, the upper tribunal found that the first-tier tribunal had erred in its judgment by accepting Maria’s testimony without requiring independent evidence to back her assertions.
The upper tribunal pointed out that even a cursory search would have shown the existence of IVF services in Nigeria, undermining the foundation of the couple’s argument.
The judgment stated, “We conclude that the judge erred in exclusively relying upon Ms. A’s (referring to Maria) personal evidence when finding as a fact that IVF treatment is unavailable in Nigeria,” the upper tribunal ruled.
