McDowell in deportation climbdown

JUSTICE Minister Michael McDowell does not remember if he read the file of Nigerian student Olunkunle Elunkanlo before deciding to deport him in controversial circumstances.

The minister announced a major climbdown yesterday, admitting he had been wrong to send Mr Elunkanlo back to Nigeria and that he was revoking the deportation order.

"The best thing to do in the circumstances was to stop digging and to do the right thing and to let him come back," Mr McDowell said.

Last night, a spokeswoman for the minister said he could not recall whether he had actually read Mr Elunkanlo's file before making the original decision to deport him. "He doesn't remember this particular case," she said.

The minister's portfolio meant he dealt with thousands of files, she added, and he could not recall whether he had read this particular one or not.

Mr Elunkanlo was arrested on March 14 and returned to Nigeria that night aboard a chartered flight together with 34 other people, including nine children.

Files on possible deportation cases are prepared by the Department of Justice's repatriation section. The file is then sent together with a summary of the case to the minister. He also receives a deportation order which he can sign if he deems the individual should be removed from the country.

Reading the summary would be sufficient for Mr McDowell to sign the deportation order, the spokeswoman indicated, saying: "He doesn't have to read the whole file."

Mr McDowell bowed to mounting public pressure yesterday in deciding to allow Mr Elunkanlo return on a temporary, six-month visa to finish his studies.

Hundreds of people had taken part in protests outside the Dáil, organised by Mr Elunkanlo's classmates at Palmerstown and the Residents Against Racism group.

The Archbishop of Dublin, the Most Rev Diarmuid Martin, and the Teachers' Union of Ireland were among the latest to add their voices to the campaign. The archbishop welcomed Mr McDowell's change of mind yesterday but, like members of the opposition, called for a debate on the country's immigration policy.

Labour leader Pat Rabbitte said there were other, less-publicised deportations that were also unjustified.

"I hope that the minister will now consider suspending the current programme of deportations to allow a review of the entire system to see if a more humane manner (can be found) of dealing with those who find themselves for whatever reason in our country without the appropriate legal status."

Mr McDowell, however, had already stressed that Mr Elunkanlo's case was not to be considered a precedent.