A Nigerian migrant rights leader, Olukunle Adetunji, is reportedly set to be deported from Canada, despite many attempts to regularise his immigration status to gain residency following failed asylum claims. 

According to the CityNews, the father of three boys was initially scheduled to be deported to Nigeria on Wednesday morning but an administrative error at the airport prevented his removal, leaving him another day to plead his case. 

Reports noted that Mr Adetunji originally entered Canada in 2012 and soon married a Canadian woman Kimora in 2014, with whom he has three children. 

However, his refugee application was denied, and he was subsequently deported to Nigeria, where he lived for sometime.

It was gathered that, in a desperate bid to reunite with his family in Canada, Mr Adetunji returned to the country without authorisation in 2016 but was immediately arrested by law enforcement officers and placed in immigration detention.

The CBC Canada reported that Mr Adetunji was released from custody after spending 10 months in detention across several maximum-security provincial facilities, following sustained advocacy by his wife that eventually helped change how immigration detention cases are reviewed in Canada.

After nearly a decade since he was released from detention, Mr Adetunji has been unable to change his immigration status, which left him in limbo, resulting in the attempt to remove him from Canada earlier this week despite having a pending application under spousal sponsorship. 

It was not immediately clear whether the Canadian authorities had resolved the error that prevented Mr Adetunji’s deportation or whether he had approached a court or relevant officials to delay his removal pending a decision on his latest immigration application.

Speaking to the CityNews about his situation, Mr Adetunji described it as a death threat, stating he was being separated from his children despite his promise never to leave them. 

“I am being taken away from my three boys. I can’t leave them because I made them a promise that I would never leave them and I can’t break that promise,” he said, adding “I have no ties to Nigeria. I have no family or relatives over there and also I don’t have a place to stay. It’s like a death sentence.”

The Canada Border Services Agency spokesperson Rebecca Purdy did not provide specific details about Mr Adetunji’s case but noted that the agency has legal obligation to remove undocumented individuals from Canada even with pending immigration applications.

“The CBSA has a legal obligation to remove as quickly as possible all foreign nationals who are inadmissible to Canada…The ability to remove inadmissible persons from Canada is essential to the integrity of the immigration system and ensuring fairness for those who come to this country lawfully,” she said. 

Experts have also noted that it’s difficult to win immigration claims from outside Canada despite claims by authorities that it has no effect on applications.