Pamela Izevbekhai deported back to Nigeria news

Sceala Philosopher Location: Carlow

This is how the Irish news papers and other news media are reporting the deportation of Pamela Izevbekhai.

Think it was on here that someone asked - Why are any Nigerians allowed asylum in Ireland.
Nigerian embassy say no need for any Nigerian to be claiming asylum in Ireland. They are all bogus according to their own embassy.
No direct flights to Ireland - so not one has a right to be here claiming asylum - not sure if this is correct asylum law.
We can't afford charity - and especially not to a oil rich nation that should be able to take care of its own. - This is obviously correct

The immigration services believe the family flew to Britain using a tourist visa, then travelled by ferry to Belfast and crossed the border. 'The family didn't apply for asylum in Britain as Tony Izevbekhai had extensive business interests in the UK and was travelling freely between Nigeria and the UK,' an immigration source said. 'If she had lodged an asylum application in the UK, his visa would have been revoked. We don't believe the story about how she arrived in Ireland.'
Izevbekhai's supporters say how she entered Ireland is not an issue before the courts and her UK visa is a 'red herring'.
Kemafo Nonyerem Chikwe, the Nigerian ambassador in Ireland, is frustrated that Irish people now consider Nigeria a 'barbaric country' because of the fears of FGM raised by the case. 'It is blatantly untrue that anything would happen to her and her children if they went back to Nigeria,' she said. 'Her husband was stopped at the border and was arrested coming into Ireland. What more evidence do you want about her motives?'
Chikwe said she believes Izevbekhai came to Ireland searching for 'greener pastures' and demands documentary evidence that Elizabeth Izevbekhai died as a result of a botched FGM procedure in 1994. 'Many Nigerians call me to ask: 'What are you doing about this? This woman is disparaging Nigeria and is being selfish',' she claimed.
The ambassador said the money the Irish state has spent on defending Izevbekhai's legal actions could have funded research into her claims in Nigeria. 'If we find that she is telling the truth and it's an isolated case, then we will make Nigeria safe for her,' Chikwe said. 'I will personally request an advocacy group, a respectable [non-governmental organisation], to help her if she can prove it.'
Izevbekhai's lawyers completely reject all the ambassador's assertions and say medical records from the hospital where Elizabeth Izevbekhai died have been presented to the Irish courts and the manner of her death has not been an issue.
Dermot Ahern, the justice minister, last week said he could not comment specifically about Izevbekhai but he is aware that bogus asylum applications have been made. He said he had to uphold the 'integrity' of the system.

This was also posted on here last year and ridiculed by some members. Not many are going to question any of the points now.
Nigerian Pamela Izevbekhai and her lies will cost Irish tax payers at least 1 million.
1 million euro in costs for one Nigerian fraudster. We have our own Irish people turned away for operations and others lying on trolleys. People who have lived and worked here all their lives and paid into the states welfare funds.
And corrupt sick Ireland spends 1 million on a single fraudsters so called Human rights.
The cowardice of Irish politicians encourages racism.
Look at these two corrupted fools.
Encouraging fraud.

Pamela Izevbekhai enjoying the support of Deputy John Perry and Fine Gael spokesperson for Children, Deputy Alan Shatter whom she met on a visit to the Dail.
She must be thinking these Irish are just so welcoming and so stupid, their politicians so easy to corrupt - especially those looking for headlines to use for their own purposes.
These fools will be in government next year.

As the big Pamela story goes another Nigerian fraudster who came to Ireland in the headlines.
Irish Community Images

Nigerian Trio Jailed over ' 3.7 million Fraud
Three Nigerians have been jailed for a fraud totaling about ' 3.7 million in what is believed to be the first UK prosecution for an organized phishing operation.
The gang made up of Babatunde Fafore of County Meath in Ireland, Ayodeji John Kareem of south east London and Vincent Alonge of Wimbledon, south west London have been jailed for a total of more than 13 years.
They were accused of obtaining details of 10,000 credit cards and 900 bank accounts after sending e-mails that looked like they were official bank messages, asking their victims to confirm account details including passwords. They then stole an estimated '3.1million from their victims' credit cards and around '600,000 from bank accounts.
Commenting on the crime, DI Colin Wetherill, of Scotland Yard's Police Central e-Crime Unit said: 'In collaboration with law enforcement colleagues and industry partners both in the UK and overseas we are working to identify and bring to justice those committing serious and organized offences of this nature online, and to reduce the harm they cause to innocent individuals and to the economy. These convictions represent a significant step forward.
Pamela Izevbekhai deported back to Nigeria news
They came for them in middle of night as they slept
Irish Independent
In the end they came for them in the middle of the night as they were sleeping.
Pamela Izevbekhai's six-year deportation battle, for so long played out in the glare of the public spotlight, ended in the dark of night
At 1.30am, Ms Izevbekhai was arrested at Globe House asylum centre in Sligo and she, and her two daughters, Naomi (10) and Jemima (9), were informed they would be leaving Ireland on a flight that morning.

'1m legal bill after Pamela and girls finally deported
The Government and five legal teams that represented failed asylum seeker Pamela Izevbekhai have been left with "staggering" legal bills totalling more than '1m that will never be repaid.

The Nigerian mother's controversial six-year legal battle to stop her deportation ended yesterday when she was arrested at 1.30am and, with her two daughters, Naomi (10) and Jemima (9), placed on a 6am flight out of Dublin Airport to Amsterdam.

The State has been left with a legal bill of '370,000 for defending the case in the High Court, Supreme Court and the European Court of Human Rights.
Ms Izevbekhai's own legal bill, which her fifth and final solicitor Matthew Ezeani admitted would never be paid, is estimated to be in excess of '700,000, bringing the entire cost of the case to more than '1m.
There is no prospect of the State or any party recovering any of the costs amassed over more than two dozen court hearings.

The Department of Justice last night said it did not intend to reform the system to prevent a repeat of the Izevbekhai case.
Investigations
It said fraud was usually weeded out in the early stages of refugee investigations and insisted that the burden of proof to establish asylum status lies at all times with the person seeking it.

Ms Izevbekhai and her daughters arrived in Nigeria last night after they were transferred to an afternoon flight to Lagos from Amsterdam.
She was staying at Globe House, an asylum centre in Sligo, with her daughters when she was arrested.

The cost of yesterday's deportation was '2,800. Mr Ezeani said the removal had been a "harrowing experience" for the family.
The deportation brings an end to Ms Izevbekhai's six-year campaign to remain in Ireland.
She had claimed her daughters' lives were at risk in Nigeria as they would be subjected to female genital mutilation (FGM). Ms Izevbekhai said she had already lost her first daughter, Elizabeth, to FGM.
However, the final hurdle preventing the family's deportation was cleared last month when the European court ruled Ms Izevbekhai had failed to substantiate that the girls could face a real and concrete risk if sent back to Nigeria.
Her case garnered huge media attention when, in 2005, she went into hiding for several weeks to avoid deportation. Her daughters, then aged five and three, were taken into care. She was later arrested when she went to visit the girls.
Ms Izevbekhai enjoyed widespread public support -- including that of Justice Minister, Alan Shatter -- up to two years ago when garda investigators travelled to Nigeria and discovered she was using forged documents in her court case.
In 2009, the Irish Independent disclosed that members of the garda's national immigration bureau obtained affidavits showing that her claim that an obstetrician in Lagos delivered her baby Elizabeth in February 1993 and treated her before she died from complications after female circumcision were false.

Obstetrician Joseph Unokanjo said an affidavit allegedly sworn by him was a forgery. He reported he had delivered Pamela's daughter, Naomi, in 2000 and this had been her first pregnancy.
A separate affidavit confirmed that Elizabeth's "death certificate" was also a fake.
Following the disclosure, Ms Izevbekhai admitted the papers were forgeries and the State argued that her case should be dismissed on the grounds it had proceeded on a lie.
Ms Izevbekhai went on to pursue her case in the European Court of Human Rights, which also ruled against her.
- Dearbhail McDonald and Breda Heffernan
Irish Independent

Izevbekhai family deported
IRISH TIMES REPORTERS
Nigerian asylum seeker Pamela Izevbekhai and her two daughters have been deported from Ireland.
They were arrested in Sligo at about 1.30am and were flown to Lagos from Dublin airport by way of Amsterdam.The family is being accompanied on the journey by members of the Garda National Immigration Bureau.

Their arrest followed the activation of a deportation order, signed in 2005 by then minister for justice Michael McDowell, after the family's five-year legal battle for asylum failed.
Ms Izevbekhai's deportation was expected after the European Court of Human Rights last month rejected complaints that her rights had been violated. She was seeking asylum on the basis that her nine- and 10-year-old daughters faced the threat of female genital mutilation if they returned to Nigeria.

Ms Izevbekhai's battle against deportation began to unravel in 2009 when it emerged that documents she used to claim her first child, Elizabeth, had died in Nigeria in 1994 as a result of genital mutilation were forgeries.
There was also no evidence of Elizabeth's death at the registry of deaths in Lagos but Ms Izevbekhai said the records were obtained 'in good faith' in the belief they were genuine.
Her campaign to stay here saw her make more than 20 appearances in the High Court and a number of appearances in the Supreme Court. That court's rejection last year of her claim that the Minister for Justice had discretion to reconsider her application was seen by some legal experts as marking the end of her Irish legal challenges.
The case was taken to the European Court of Human Rights which in its decision said Ms Izevbekhai's explanation for the use of forged documents was 'inadequate' and 'unpersuasive'.
On the claims regarding threats faced by her daughters if they returned to Nigeria, the court held she failed to substantiate that they would face a real and concrete risk.

Pamela Izevbekhai and daughters deported
A Nigerian woman who fought a long legal battle to remain in Ireland has been deported along with her two daughters.
Pamela Izevbekhai and her daughters Naomi and Jemima have been deported.

The move follows the failure of a long legal battle by the Nigerian woman and her two daughters, who had fought to remain in Ireland.

It is understood that Pamela, Naomi and Jemima Izevbekhai were arrested in the Globe House asylum seekers centre in Sligo at about 1.30am.

The family were then brought to Dublin Airport where they were put on a commercial flight to Amsterdam at about 5.30am.

It is understood that in Amsterdam they subsequently boarded another flight bound for Lagos in Nigeria.

Mrs Izevbekhai had sought asylum on the grounds that her daughters would be subjected to female genital mutilation if they returned to Nigeria.

But the documents on which she based her case were found to be forged. When she recently lost a case at the European Courts of Human Rights it was clear that she had exhausted all avenues to secure permission to remain in Ireland.

It is understood the deportations were on foot of an order signed by the then Minister for Justice, Michael McDowell, in November 2005.

Ms Izevbekhai's solicitor said he was taken by surprise by this morning's deportation.

Matthew Ezeani said she was disappointed with the outcome of her recent challenge at the European Court of Human Rights as she had been fighting the case for a number of years and was passionate about her cause.

He said he had yet to speak to his client following today's deportation.

Fake health records woman deported

Tuesday, 19 July 2011
Pamela Izevbekhai and her two daughters have been deported

Pamela Izevbekhai and her two daughters have been deported
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A Nigerian woman whose claim for asylum was dismissed over forged medical records has been deported with her two daughters.

Pamela Izevbekhai was sent back to Lagos on an early flight on Tuesday after a failed six-year battle to remain in Ireland.

In one of the country's most high-profile asylum cases, Ms Izevbekhai claimed that her two daughters, Naomi and Jemima, faced the threat of female genital mutilation if they returned to Nigeria.

Rosanna Flynn, of Residents Against Racism, said she believes the mother-of-two knows her fight has ended.

She said: "We're very, very sad. We've known Pamela for six years now and it's sad. We're worried about the welfare of the family."
Belfasttelegraph

Izevbekhai family deported â€Ž
A Nigerian mother who had sought asylum here, along with her two daughters has been deported.

Pamela Izevbekhai and her children - were arrested at an asylum centre in Sligo early this morning and taken to Dublin Airport.

Mrs Izevbekhai had fought a long legal battle seeking asylum on the grounds that her daughters would be subjected to female genital mutilation if they returned to Nigeria.
tv3

The case of Pamela Izevbekhai

MARESE McDONAGH

BACKGROUND: IT HAS been a rollercoaster ride for Pamela Izevbekhai who, after living in Sligo for 6' years, left that city in the dead of night on Monday, accompanied by a detective and the two daughters who have been at the centre of one of the most protracted and controversial legal battles to come before the Irish courts.

Her friends continued to insist her children were still in danger, while her detractors wished good riddance to a woman whom they accused of fraud and of abusing the Irish legal system.

Pamela Izevbekhai's case became a cause celebre for those who are uneasy about how the Irish State treats asylum seekers and those who admired her for putting the spotlight on the barbaric practice of female genital mutilation. Izevbekhai's case was that her first-born daughter, Elizabeth, died aged 17 months from blood loss after Izevbekhai bowed to pressure from her in-laws and allowed the child to be subjected to mutilation. She said she could not risk them doing the same to her other children.

It was a campaign punctuated by highs and lows. On March 17th, 2008, her daughters led the St Patrick's Day parade in Sligo, winning the hearts of those who lined the streets. The next day, they and their mother were summoned to the Garda National Immigration Bureau in Dublin, where they were ordered to present themselves for deportation.

Several times deportation seemed imminent but until yesterday there always seemed to be another legal option to be explored. There were umpteen High Court appearances, an appeal to the Supreme Court, and finally the case was referred to the European Court of Human Rights, which found there had been no violation of the family's rights and that they had the means to protect the girls in Nigeria. Throughout the campaign, many in Sligo rallied to their cause, but the mood changed after revelations about forged documents emerged in 2009. Some of those who had been publicly supportive felt wrong-footed, if not betrayed.

Izevbekhai's legal team stood down after a Nigerian doctor said he had not, contrary to documents used in the case, delivered a baby called Elizabeth Izevbekhai and that he had never treated this child for blood loss following genital mutilation. Supporters pointed out that, even then, this doctor was seeking payments from the media for interviews, but they had to admit Izevbekhai's credibility had been harmed.

Supporters insisted that documents are hard to access in Nigeria and that any mother would do the same to protect her children. But the campaign never recovered momentum.

Yesterday the mayor of Sligo, Cllr Rosaleen O'Grady, refused to comment. Fine Gael TD John Perry, who had welcomed Izevbekhai to Leinster House with party colleagues Alan Shatter and Denis Naughten in December 2008, also refused to comment.

Supporters said that since the European court ruling, Izevbekhai had been expecting yesterday's development. She had been neither scared nor depressed.

'She was just tired of being pursued by the Irish State,' said one friend.
Forged papers damaged public support for Pamela Izevbekhai

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