Opebiyi, who says he's the Head of Operations, Sabi Micro Finance Bank Ltd, said on arriving at Manchester Airport on March 14, 2021, he was stopped by a UK Immigration official, who insisted that he must be interviewed before he could be allowed into the UK.
According to Opebiyi, he was made to wait for eight hours at the immigration desk before he was interviewed by an Immigration officer, who asked him to draw the logo of Sabi Micro Finance Bank Ltd, and name the MD of his company, as a way of verifying his claim that he works with the company.
Opebiyi alleged that after drawing the logo as best as he could, the Immigration officer told him that the drawing was not good enough and he would be denied entry into the UK. He claims he was subsequently detained for 10 days before he was finally deported to Nigeria on March 24.
In the suit filed by UK-based Nigerian lawyer, Mr Femi Aina, a Senior Consultant Solicitor with Martynsrose Solicitors, UK, Opebiyi is demanding damages for what he termed the unlawful and humiliating treatment meted out to him by the UK Immigration officers.
The applicant, through his lawyer, said he was entitled to a claim of between £5,000 and £20,000, with interest for flight fees, airport transportation while in Nigeria, immigration and visa fees and emotional trauma meted to him.
Opebiyi, in the court papers, said, “I was humiliated and distressed about the whole matter. A week after returning to Nigeria I could not go to work as I was mentally unstable. I have never stayed in detention in my life. The whole experience is affecting me psychologically till now. Anytime I hear detention or see anything about the UK, I cringe. I lost my savings on a fruitless journey to the UK. I am a victim of injustice.”
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