Concern over deportation of Nigerian student

Growing concern has been expressed about a Nigerian student who was deported early on Tuesday morning.

Olunkunle Eluhanla (19) arrived in Ireland alone when he was 14, and was deported in his school uniform after he reported to the Garda National Immigration Bureau.

He arrived in Lagos on Tuesday with no money or possessions, friends said.

Mr Eluhanla rang classmates in Palmerstown, Dublin, to say that he was stranded in Lagos airport, and did not know what to do or where to go, his friend, Darragh Gilligan, said.

"He was just dumped at the airport. He's over there with nothing," he said. "We couldn't believe it when we heard."

Mr Eluhanla told friends his father had been killed, and if he returned to Nigeria he would be expected to avenge his father's death. He had not seen his mother since he came to Ireland, and knew no one in Lagos.

Friends have been trying to contact him on his mobile phone since, but think his credit may have run out. Students from Palmerstown Community School protested at the Dáil yesterday over the deportation.

Mr Eluhanla was one of 35 Nigerians deported on Tuesday, and protests are being organised to express anger at the mass deportation. Residents Against Racism led a protest outside the Garda National Immigration Bureau on Burgh Quay, Dublin, yesterday, with support from groups such as the Refugee Council, Union of Students in Ireland and the Socialist Workers' Party.

A second protest against the deportation of children will be held at the Dáil next Wednesday.