Embattled Pastor Tobi Adegboyega denies UK deportation and financial misconduct claims

Nigerian pastor Tobi Adegboyega, leader of SPAC Nation (now Nation Family), has denied allegations that he faces deportation from the UK amid ongoing accusations of financial misconduct involving his church.

“There is no deportation order. Let me make that clear,” Pastor Adegboyega said during a BBC interview on Friday. He described the legal situation as an “ongoing issue” but dismissed claims he would be forced to leave the country.

The preacher, who arrived in the UK on a visitor’s visa in 2005 at age 25, said he assumed his family was handling his immigration paperwork, leading to a nearly decade-long delay in regularising his status. “I lost track of time,” he explained. He also dismissed the possibility of moving his church to Nigeria, calling it “impossible.”

Pastor Adegboyega’s church has been under scrutiny since December, following a UK Charity Commission investigation that found “serious misconduct and/or mismanagement in the administration” of the organisation. However, Adegboyega dismissed the findings, saying, “It is false. They have been on this thing for the past four years.”

These are not the first allegations leveled against the church. In 2019, a BBC Panorama investigation accused SPAC Nation of financially exploiting young members, claiming they were pressured into taking out loans and engaging in benefit fraud to make donations. The church denied the allegations, and Adegboyega downplayed them, saying, “If you have 1,000 people in a place, are you telling me 30 people will not be disgruntled?”

Founded as a UK charity in 2012, SPAC Nation aimed to help vulnerable individuals, tackle gun violence, and support young offenders. Adegboyega highlighted the church’s efforts, claiming they had removed hundreds of knives from the streets and provided support to young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. “We believe in a practical approach to help a community,” he said.

Adegboyega also defended his opulent lifestyle, including designer clothing, luxury jewellery, and expensive cars, saying it was intentional. “I put on what is right, what connects to the generation I’m speaking to so they are not attracted to drug dealers,” he said.

The allegations and controversies surrounding the church continue to raise questions about its practices and Adegboyega’s leadership. However, the pastor remains defiant, denying all wrongdoing and maintaining that his mission is to uplift his community.