Iceland immigration hits back over Nigerian deportation

Eze Okafor.

Eze Okafor.

The decision of the Icelandic authorities to deport Eze Okafor is in full accordance with the relevant legislation and rules and the ruling of the Immigration and Asylum Appeals Board, says the Directorate of Immigration.

Okafor was taken into police custody yesterday and deported from Iceland this morning, sparking demonstrations in Reykjavik and a dramatic set-to on board Okafor’s flight.

MORE: VIDEO: Asylum protest drama on board Icelandair jet

The Icelandic Directorate of Immigration.

The Icelandic Directorate of Immigration. Photo: Iceland Monitor/Kristinn Ingvarsson

According to Okafor’s lawyer, the Immigration and Asylum Appeals Board of Iceland’s Home Affairs Ministry ruled earlier this month that he could not be sent back to Sweden (having arrived there from Nigeria and moved on to Iceland) under the terms of the EU’s Dublin Regulation , as too much time had elapsed since his arrival in Iceland.

This is untrue, claims Iceland’s Directorate of Immigration.

The ruling takes no position of whether or not the ‘Dublin deadline’ was up, and does not task the Directorate of Immigration with processing Okafor’s asylum case, says the immigration agency in a statement.

The Immigration and Asylum Appeals Board has declined to make any comment on the statement issued by the Directorate of Immigration.

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