A judge has ordered a psychiatric report on a Nigerian man accused of obstructing deportation, claiming gardaí mixed him up with one of his nine identical brothers.
In the first prosecution of its kind, Sam Okwuoha (28) was due to face trial at Dublin District Court on Wednesday.
The case stems from a Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB) investigation.
Jade O’Brien, barrister for the defence, applied to vacate the non-jury hearing due to concerns about Okwuoha’s fitness in relation to the proceedings.
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She told Judge Michael Ramsey that the defence had been unable to attend personal consultations to inquire into her client’s wellbeing while on remand at Mountjoy Prison. Counsel added that the accused has since been moved to Cloverhill Prison.
Ramsey noted there was no objection from the prosecution to adjourn the hearing. He directed the preparation of a psychiatric report on the accused and adjourned the case for four weeks, when it will be listed for mention.
The accused, dressed in a grey tracksuit and red shirt, was remanded in continuing custody.
The alleged “decuplet” claims his arrest is a case of mistaken identity, leading to his being charged with a single offence under the Immigration Act 1999.
He is accused of obstructing deportation on March 6th at Dublin Airport, after the Minister of Justice, Equality and Law Reform signed the order to remove him on January 6th.
Okwuoha denies the charge.
The man, who had previously lived in Dublin, replied, “I am not the person,” when charged, and bail was denied three months ago.
The court was told the accused maintained to be “one of decuplets”, 10 children from the same pregnancy.
The proceedings have also heard that Okwuoha maintained he had identical brothers and that he “swapped places with his brother and came to Ireland”.
Gardaí told the court they believed Okwuoha would not appear in court if granted bail, and that he had a history of failing to attend proceedings in the State and for “giving different names, using different dates of birth and identities”.
The charge is a “summary only” offence, dealt with at the District Court level, and punishable by a maximum 12-month sentence and a fine of up to €2,500.
