Student seeks judicial review over second deportation attempt

Nigerian student Olunkunle Eluhanla is taking a judicial review against the Government’s second attempt to deport him, it was confirmed today.

The student was originally deported to Nigeria on a chartered flight last year but Justice Minister Michael McDowell was forced to allow him to return so that he could sit his Leaving Certificate exams, after a huge protest campaign by his classmates.

Mr McDowell has signed a deportation order for the student, known as Kunle, and refused permission for him to continue his studies in Ireland.

He has been given two weeks to organise his departure.

Mark Grehan, a spokesman for Residents Against Racism, said: “He is still talking with his legal team over a judicial review on the matter and they are confident of success.”

Mr Eluhanla, who is in his early 20s, was allowed to return to Ireland on a six-month student visa.

In January, the Justice Department sent him a letter which stated it was Mr McDowell’s view that allowing him to stay would be contrary to the common good.

It outlined several reasons for the decision, including the fact that his application for asylum had been turned down, and the fact that he had recently pleaded guilty in court to charges of driving without insurance or tax since he returned to Ireland.

He also has one previous conviction for a road traffic offence.

The student arrived in Ireland as an unaccompanied minor and has said that he has no family or relatives in Nigeria.

He gained support to remain in Ireland from his classmates in Palmerstown Community College in Dublin and the Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin.

The student was carried shoulder high by classmates when he returned to Dublin Airport last April and professed his desire to stay in Ireland forever.

Residents Against Racism said it had requested no protests while his legal team worked on his judicial review of the deportation.