2 days ago
'A week ago we were safe in Ireland': Family at centre of Red Cow deportation speak out
A NIGERIAN FAMILY whose deportation case was highlighted by a Dublin school principal last week have spoken out about the conditions they have faced since they were removed from Ireland.
Oluwanifemi Winfunke said the past week had been a 'nightmare' for him, his wife and three children.
'It is distressing and heartbreaking that a week ago my wife and children were safe in Ireland,' he told
The Journal
.
The former banker said his family had come to Ireland seeking refuge from the 'scar of the past' brought by kidnapping incidents, 'hoping for a safe haven before this illegal deportation brought us back into what we feared most'.
Five children and thirty adults
were removed from Ireland
on a chartered flight last week as part of the Department of Justice's crackdown on enforcing immigration rules.
Outcry over the family's removal
was led by Ciarán Cronin, the principal of St James Primary school in Dublin 8 – he told
The Journal
that two of the children who were removed from the state had been pupils at his school had made themselves part 'of our school fabric, part of our school lives', during their three years in Ireland.
Children who were friends with the three Winfunke kids told
The Journal
last week of their devastation at realising their peers were being deported, and of their fear over what it meant for their own family. The hotel is part of the international protection system.
St James Primary school in Dublin 8
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After his family were brought from the Red Cow Hotel on the outskirts of Dublin to the Nigerian capital Lagos last week, Winfunke said they have been 'huddled together in a cramped, dilapidated room' as they try to find their footing.
'My family are crying at the moment, they are scared of where we are,' Winfunke told
The Journal
, adding that gun shots were heard near where they are staying earlier this week.
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They arrived in January 2022, with Winfunke working full-time in Dublin over recent years.
Outlining the family's reasons for leaving Nigeria, Winfunke said that they were living comfortably before two kidnappings incidents.
'I was abused, tortured, and traumatised during these times. We were recovering from these scars of the past kidnappings that happened to me, which my wife also suffered a lot during this time,' he said.
'My daughter was also targeted. We had settled in Ireland seeking refuge from the scar of the past, hoping for a safe haven before this illegal deportation brought us back into what we feared most.'
He added: 'We have been rendered homeless once again by the Justice Minister after all the pleas from our loved ones in Ireland who see all the effort we have put in since.'
Experiences of deportees
The family are just one of several people subjected to last week's deportations who spoke to
The Journal
about their experiences.
Many of the men who were deported on last week's flight had been arrested a number of weeks ahead of the chartered flight.
Several described how they were brought weeks in advance of the plane journey to Cloverhill Prison in Dublin, where some slept on mattresses on the floor due to overcrowding.
Winfunke said it was an alien experience for many of the men, as they were separated from their families and friends ahead of the deportation.
A number of the deportees said they were repeatedly offered drugs in prison but refused – one alleged he was beaten by a fellow prisoner as a result.
Several of the people who spoke to
The Journal
said they arrested by gardaí after turning up to a routine appointment with immigration officials.
'We're not criminals, you gave us an appointment. I was given a time, I went there, and I got picked up,' said one man who had been residing in Ireland since 2009. 'We go to the appointments because we're not criminals.'
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The appointments are similar to bail or dole sign-ons and take place regularly while a person is seeking permission to remain in Ireland.
When asked why they were refused permission to remain in Ireland, a number of the men quoted the phrase, 'the interest of the state is more than individual interest' as the reasoning given to them by immigration officials. Others said they were told that it was 'the minister's decision' and that their deportation would need to take place as a result.
Emergency stop on last week's flight
Three of the men on the Zoom call with
The Journal
raised concerns over the welfare of one of their friends on last week's flight.
The flight made an emergency stop after two passengers became unwell on board, and one was brought by medical personnel to the hospital after landing in Nigeria.
Today, the deportees said they have not been able to track down their friend and don't know where he ended up. 'We are concerned for him, we have tried different contacts and can't find him.'
A number said that Nigeria was 'not safe' for them, telling of persistent threats against them and their family. One man immediately went on the run and fled to nearby Ghana after his deportation last week.
Another man, who had been working as a team leader in a food factory in Dublin, said he had been unable to trace his parents since returning.
He said they face persecution by a Jihadist group, which, as recently this week, has been subject to
calls by Catholic bishops
over its lethal attacks on communities in Nigeria.
For this and other reasons, such as the full-time employment they had secured, all of the men were determined to return to Ireland despite last week's. 'It's our home, it's where we have made our lives,' one man explained.
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