Pastor Linked to Star Wars Actor Facing Deportation Following £1.87 Million Fraud Scandal at Controversial Church

The pastor of a congregation involved in a £1.87million fraud scandal has failed in his deportation appeal.

Tobi Adegboyega, related to Star Wars star John Boyega, was the head of the contentious SPAC Nation church, which operated unsuitable ‘safe houses’ for at-risk black individuals.

Most of its revenue bypassed banking channels, and the church has been disbanded due to its inability to clarify nearly £2million in expenditures.

Now, an immigration tribunal has determined that Adegboyega should be sent back to Nigeria following revelations of financial mismanagement within his church.

He argued that his deportation would violate his rights under the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR) regarding family life, as he is wed to a British citizen.

His legal representatives also stated that the Home Office’s efforts to deport him did not consider his contributions to the community through SPAC, which has ‘intervened in the lives of countless young people, primarily from London’s black communities, to steer them away from peril’, The Telegraph reports.

He proposed that the community initiatives he established would either cease operations or diminish in scope if he were compelled to leave London.

However, the Home Office communicated to the court that ‘all may not be as it appears’, with the final judgement stating: ‘Former members of the church have claimed it operates like a cult, in which impoverished youths are persuaded to donate funds through any means possible, including taking out significant loans, committing benefit fraud, and even selling their own blood.

‘It is contended that the church’s leadership enjoys luxurious lifestyles, and there have purported instances of abuse.

‘The evidence before us implies that all these factors must be considered when assessing whether [Mr. Adegboyega] is genuinely beneficial to the UK.’

Adegboyega has resided in the UK without authorization since overstaying a visitor visa in 2005. He sought permission to remain in 2019, but his request was declined prior to his appeal.

In the tribunal, he asserted that no one has ever been criminally charged for his church’s financial dealings, that many accusations against him and SPAC Nation were politically motivated, and that the assertions of it being a cult were baseless.

Nevertheless, an investigation by the Charity Commission into the church determined: ‘There has been significant misconduct and/or mismanagement in the charity’s administration that persisted over an extended period.’

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