A Nigerian woman, Titilayo Oluwakemi Oyekanmi, and her three sons have been deported from Dublin, Ireland, to South Africa, following the rejection of their asylum application by Irish authorities.
According to reports by The Irish Times, Oyekanmi and her children, Samuel, 18, Joseph, 14, and Genesis, 5, were removed from the country on Saturday after living in Dublin since 2023.
The deportation drew public attention in recent weeks after protesters gathered outside the Irish Department of Justice to oppose the planned removal of the family. Supporters, including schoolchildren, neighbours and friends, urged authorities to reconsider the decision, arguing that the family had become part of the local community.
Oyekanmi had moved to Ireland from South Africa with her children, citing increasing xenophobic attacks against Nigerians in that country.
However, the family received a deportation order last year after their asylum request was denied, while a subsequent appeal also failed.
Protesters had submitted letters and petitions to the authorities, appealing for the deportation order to be reversed and insisting that removing the family would negatively affect the community.
Despite the campaign, the Irish justice authorities confirmed that a total of 63 people, including nine children, were deported to South Africa aboard a charter flight that departed from Dublin Airport.
Officials said the deportees were accompanied during the flight by officers of the Garda Síochána, as well as medical personnel, an interpreter and a human rights observer.
Speaking to the Irish Independent, Oyekanmi described the deportation as heartbreaking, particularly for her eldest son who was preparing for an important school examination.
“Samuel, my first son, is preparing for his Leaving Cert. Taking him out at this stage of his life is going to affect his future, and that makes me cry,” she said.
“I just want my children to be happy because we had to run away from threats to our lives in South Africa. We escaped kidnapping. The same boy who survived that kidnapping is now being sent back to the same country,” she added.
