Tobi Adegboyega
By Victory Oghene
Two and half years after the United Kingdom authorities shut down SPAC Nation, known as Salvation Proclaimer Ministries Limited, over allegations of fraud and financial misappropriation, it is set to deport the founder of the church, Pastor Tobi Adegboyega to Nigeria after losing his case against deportation at the immigration tribunal.
NATIONAL WAVES gathered that the UK authorities closed the church after Adegboyega failed to properly account for more than £1.87 million of outgoings and operating with a lack of transparency.
According to a report by The Telegraph, an immigration tribunal ruled that he should be deported back to Nigeria after investigations.
Adegboyega allegedly arrived the UK with a visitor’s visa in 2005 and has lived in the UK unlawfully ever since.
In 2019, the pastor applied for leave to remain under ECHR’s right to a family life.
His application was initially dismissed by a first-tier immigration tribunal before he appealed.
Having been married to a British woman, the pastor claimed deportation would breach his right under the European Convention of Human Rights to a family life and failed to consider his community work with SPAC.
His legal team described him as a ‘charismatic’ community leader of a large, well-organised church who had ‘intervened in the lives of many hundreds of young people, predominantly from the black communities in London, to lead them away from trouble’.
Politicians including former Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, and senior figures within the Metropolitan Police had ‘lauded’ his work, he claimed, but no testimony by them was submitted to the court.
However, the Home Office contended ‘all is not as it seems’ and dragged him before an immigration tribunal.
However, according to the judgment as quoted by The Telegraph, the tribunal said evidences against the Nigerian pastor were taken to consideration.
The judgment reads, “Various manifestations of [Mr Adegboyega’s] church have been closed down, by either the Charity Commission or the High Court, because of concerns over its finances and lack of transparency.
“Former members of the church have alleged that it is a cult, in which impoverished young people are encouraged to do anything they can to donate money, including taking out large loans, committing benefit fraud and even selling their own blood.
“It is alleged that the church leadership lead lavish lifestyles and there have, it is said, been instances of abuse. The [Home Office’s] case before us was that all of this needs to be taken into account when evaluating whether [Mr Adegboyega] is in fact of real value to the UK.”
Speaking at the tribunal, Adegboyega said that claims that his chruch was a cult was unfounded and attacks on him and the church were politically motivated.
He also maintained no one had ever faced criminal charges over his church’s finances, adding that his deportation would breach his human rights.
However, the tribunal was told the Charity Commission concluded “there had been serious misconduct and/or mismanagement in the administration of the charity which was sustained over a substantial period of time.”
The tribunal also found Adegboyega’s evidence to be “hyperbolic in many instances’ and had ‘sought to grossly inflate his influence.”
The tribunal concluded, “We are not satisfied that the good work that SPAC Nation undertakes generally would collapse or even significantly suffer should the appellant be required to leave the UK.
“Weighing all of the foregoing in the balance we conclude that the decision to refuse leave to remain was wholly proportionate.
“Mr Adegboyega seeks to rely on family and private life relationships, all of which have been established whilst he was in the UK unlawfully, and which would survive his return to Nigeria.
“The interference would therefore be limited, and lawful in all the circumstances.”
It would be recalled that a UK court was told how SPAC Nation was incorporated in 2012 as a charity set up to advance Christianity. Much of its charitable work was based in London, working particularly with vulnerable people, youth, and offenders.
The Insolvency Service received complaints about SPAC Nation before instigating its own inquiries into the church group’s activities.
Further inquiries found that SPAC Nation either failed to comply or only partially complied with statutory requirements, including providing data to support claimed donations, and accounting records to support £1.87 million of spending.
SPAC Nation rebranded as Nation Family in June 2020, a month after head pastor Tobi Adeboyega announced he was stepping down as leader, though he has remained in charge.
Organisations like SPAC Nation being investigated or closed by authorities navigate local regulations and continue to exist under another name
It was also recognised that the company provided inconsistent information to the Insolvency Service and Charity Commission, and failed to deliver adequate accounting records.
