Photo credit: the Guardian
A disabled Nigerian man who has lived in the UK for 38 years has won an appeal to stay in the country.
The Guardian reports that Anthony Olubunmi Geoge went to the UK at the age of 24 in 1986. He has not left the country since and has no criminal convictions.
George had two strokes in 2019 that left him with speech and mobility issues. He has endured periods of homelessness and says he has lost count of the number of friends who have given him shelter over the years.
He said, “I don’t know the number of sofas I’ve slept on, too many to count.”
George, who says he no longer has any close family in Nigeria, had made various applications for leave to remain in the UK.
However, the Home Office rejected all the applications. He was therefore overjoyed that the fear of deportation was lifted off him.
He said, “I’m so happy I don’t know what to say. My life has just begun again. Before I didn’t have hope, but now by God’s grace I can move on with my life.”
A forged entry stamp had been submitted by his former solicitors in 2005. They have been reported to the police and legal regulatory bodies.
The immigration tribunal judge who granted George the right to remain in the UK referred in his ruling to the fact that the solicitor who submitted the fake passport stamp had been struck off. He said George had stopped going to see his GP because of fears about his immigration status.
