A Nigerian gay asylum seeker identified as Adeniyi Raji has been deported from the United Kingdom to Nigeria, despite his having received numerous death threats.
Moji Delano Blog gathered that the deportees, who are mainly aged women and some members of LGBTQ communities seeking asylum, arrived at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja on Thursday, June 30.
Adeniyi Raji, 48, was among at least 13 refugees on a Home Office charter flight to Lagos, Nigeria that took off from Birmingham Airport on Wednesday night, June 29.
He arrived in Britain in 2017 from Nigeria to escape death threats that were being sent to him on social media.
Being gay is illegal in Nigeria and punishable by up to 14 years in jail.
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13 Nigerians were removed to Lagos on the June 30 flight; according to the U.K. Home Office, which is responsible for migration issues in the country.
The flight then carried on to Ghana, where eight Ghanaians disembarked.
The flight is believed to have been operated by Portuguese charter carrier Hi Fly; but the company did not respond to a request to confirm. The Home Office also declined to comment.
It is unclear why exactly the people on the plane were deported; though the Home Office described 11 of those removed as “foreign national offenders” and a further 10 as “immigration offenders.”
