A Nigerian mother and her three sons, who fled from South Africa to Ireland after an alleged attack by a gun-wielding gang, were deported to South Africa.<\/p>\n
However, Home Affairs Minister Dr Leon Schreiber revealed that they were \u201cimmediately\u201d sent to Nigeria after landing on South African shores on February 26.<\/p>\n
In a recent parliamentary response on the case, which sparked a protest and grabbed headlines in Ireland, Schreiber said the family was among 63 deportees who had arrived on a chartered flight from Ireland.<\/p>\n
Stephen Kirwan, partner and head of immigration at KOD Lyons, who represented the family in Ireland, said Titilayo Oluwakemi Oyekanmi and her three sons, aged five to eighteen, were deported from Ireland after their asylum application and subsequent appeal were refused.<\/p>\n
The family travelled to Ireland from South Africa in late 2023.<\/p>\n
Oyekanmi, who is originally from Nigeria, sought asylum in Ireland after allegedly being beaten by a gang and threatened at gunpoint. A deportation order was issued in April 2025.<\/p>\n
Kirwan then applied for the order to be revoked on humanitarian grounds.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe case has gained attention partly because of the family\u2019s strong ties to their community. The eldest son, Samuel, was preparing for his Leaving Cert at Ballinteer Community School. Joseph, aged 14, was attending Gonzaga College on a scholarship. The youngest, Genesis, is five years old. All three attended local schools and sports clubs,\u201d said Kirwan in a statement posted on their website.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Neighbours, students, parents and teachers from the boys\u2019 schools protested ahead of the deportation.<\/p>\n
Kirwan said the community\u2019s support was \u201csomething I\u2019ve never seen before.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, the protest and appeal failed, and the mother and her sons were deported.<\/p>\n
The status of their legal status in South Africa and the authenticity of their South African identity documents were not released by Schreiber or the Irish authorities.<\/p>\n
Schreiber said the family was taken to Lindela Holding Facility upon their arrival at OR Tambo International Airport.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Nigerian Embassy identified and issued travel documents, and they were returned to Nigeria within 72 hours of their arrival,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He said that no information on the criminal history of the deportees was shared by Irish authorities.<\/p>\n
In a press statement earlier this year, Ireland\u2019s Justice, Home Affairs and Migration Minister, Jim O\u2019Callaghan, said the South Africans were in the country illegally, and ten of them had criminal convictions for domestic violence and drug-related offences.<\/p>\n
Under Irish immigration law, if an asylum application is refused and all appeals through the International Protection Appeals Tribunal (IPAT) are exhausted, the Minister for Justice may issue a deportation order. Before this happens, individuals are usually offered voluntary return assistance.<\/p>\n
A deportation order can be reviewed or revoked under Section 3(11) of the Immigration Act 1999 if circumstances have changed, such as children being enrolled in Irish schools, strong community ties, or changes in conditions in the country of origin.<\/p>\n
Last month, the South African Constitutional Court last month ruled that a person cannot submit a new asylum application once their original application has been finally decided.<\/p>\n
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