Minister hits back in student deportation row
A Nigerian student deported by Irish immigration police lied about his true age, Minister for Justice Michael McDowell claimed tonight.
The Minister faced a storm of outrage today over last week’s deportation of 19-year-old Olunkunle Eluhanla – a Leaving Cert student at Dublin’s Palmerstown Community College.
Opposition parties, the Irish Refugee Council and the TUI teachers’ union all expressed concern on the issue today and classmates picketed the Dáil.
Socialist Party leader Joe Higgins also claimed that Mr Eluhanla was wearing his school uniform when deported.
But, responding to a heated debate tabled by five TDs in the Dáil tonight, Mr McDowell claimed the student could be as old as 21 years of age and wasn’t wearing his school uniform when put on a charter flight to Lagos on March 14.
“The date of birth given in the [February 2002] asylum application indicated that he was 17 years of age.
“On the basis of that date he was by no stretch of the imagination a schoolboy – but was 20 years of age – when he was deported.
“Moreover, he verbally indicated to the escorting garda team that he was, in fact, 21 years of age.
“Furthermore, the gardaí inform me that he was not wearing clothes which could be described as a school uniform.”
The Minister warned that some groups exaggerated the claims of asylum seekers to generate publicity and criticise immigration policy.
“There is no country in Europe that shows more compassion and decency than this one. If we don’t deport some people we may as well not have any laws at all,” he said.
He reiterated that Mr Eluhanla’s case went through two independent reviews and he would not intervene now.
