Pastor Tobi Adegboyega, founder of SPAC Nation and a Nigerian-born preacher, will be deported from the UK following a decision by the Immigration Upper Tribunal. The 44-year-old pastor first entered the UK on a visitor visa in 2005 but failed to leave when it expired. Despite being married to a British citizen, his appeals to remain in the country were rejected.
Adegboyega argued that deportation would harm his community projects, claiming that his church had helped rescue young people from gang violence through programs and safe houses. He also mentioned support from UK leaders, including former Prime Minister Boris Johnson and members of the Metropolitan Police.
However, the court found that these claims were “overstated” and lacked solid evidence. Judges Bruce and Rastogi noted that Adegboyega’s contributions to society had been “grossly exaggerated” and dismissed the idea that his absence would harm the programs.
Adegboyega overstayed his visa, violating immigration rules.
The tribunal found no evidence to support his claims of police collaboration or significant community impact.
His marriage to a British citizen was not enough to offset his immigration violations.
The court ruled that Adegboyega’s community work could continue without his physical presence in the UK. They emphasized that following immigration laws is essential, regardless of personal achievements or relationships.
This case highlights the importance of legal compliance in immigration matters and the need for verifiable evidence when making claims in appeals.
“We do, however, note the absence of corroborative evidence in respect of the most prominent agencies that the appellant (Adegboyega) claims as his supporters.
“There was nothing before us from the Metropolitan Police, Downing Street, the Mayor of London or the Home Office, all institutions which the appellant claims to have enthusiastically endorsed his work,” the court affirmed.
“For instance, there was nothing at all to support his assertions that his presence in London is needed to ‘calm the nerves of people from ethnic minorities’ following the ‘fascist uprising’ of August 2024, or that his presence is an ‘absolute necessity’ to fighting crime. There was no corroboration for his claim to have visited Downing Street on ‘countless occasions’. These are examples of areas of the appellant’s evidence where we are satisfied that he has sought to grossly inflate his influence.
“When we asked him to describe an average day, the appellant told us that he schedules six church events per day, seven days a week. These can be all over London. He visits as many as 20 congregants per week in their own homes, and is often called upon to spend between 3-4 hours talking on a one-to-one basis to a troubled young person. He also told us about the time that he spends supervising and helping some of the many business ventures, or ‘CIC’s set up with SPAC Nation’s help, and to organising the foodbank. Even allowing for his admission that sometimes this packed itinerary causes him to run late, we find it to be implausible that he has the time to undertake all of this work personally. We consider it far more likely that this work is distributed among the many pastors, congregants and supporters of SPAC Nation.”
