Solicitor insists Agbonlahor legal case is not closed

The solicitor representing the Nigerian family deported earlier this week is reportedly insisting that their legal case in Ireland is not closed.

Olivia Agbonlahor and her six-year-old twins Great and Melissa were flown to Lagos on Tuesday after the High Court rejected a last-minute attempt to block the deportation.

However, solicitor Kevin Brophy is quoted this morning as saying that the case will come back before the court on October 1, when a full hearing will take place in an effort to overturn the deportation.

Mr Brophy will reportedly be arguing that the Agbonlahor family should be re-entered into the asylum process because their original asylum application was made before Great was diagnosed with autism.

The family have argued that they should be allowed to stay in Ireland on the grounds that Great would be treated as an outcast in Nigeria because of his condition.

Mr Brophy says he will also be arguing for a new form of legal protection called "subsidiary protection" for people who do not qualify as refugees, but who would be at risk of serious harm in their home country.