MINISTER FOR Justice Dermot Ahern has insisted that gardaí and prison officers fully complied with "all the necessary legal and administrative procedures" in their handling of the case of a Nigerian priest who was sent to prison when he arrived in Dublin for a visit last month.
Rev John Achebe (33) was arrested, strip-searched and brought to Cloverhill Prison when he arrived at Dublin airport on September 9th. Despite having a valid tourist visa, he was detained on suspicion of trying to enter the State illegally and was only released following the intervention of the Nigerian ambassador. The Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB) later cancelled a stamp on his passport saying he was refused permission to land.
Responding to a parliamentary question from Labour's Michael D Higgins, Mr Ahern said the GNIB dealt with Rev Achebe in line with the provisions of the Immigration Act (2004), which entitles immigration officers to refuse entry to a foreign national if there is reason to believe that person is coming to Ireland "for purposes other than those expressed".
"In this instance, I am advised that the applicant claimed he was visiting a named person he identified first as his brother and then as a cousin - when, in fact, they are not related. This fact was established when telephone contact was made with the named person. This was a significant factor in the immigration officer's decision," he said. He added that Rev Achebe's detention and strip-searching at Cloverhill Prison was standard practice. "He would not have been in the line of sight of anyone other than prison officers searching him. He was also treated as all other committals in accordance with Irish prison rules."
He continued: "There is no doubt that the individual was very distressed by these events. However, I am satisfied that both the immigration and prison authorities fully complied with all the necessary legal and administrative procedures in their handling of this case. I am also satisfied that the individual was treated with courtesy and respect at all times."
Rev Achebe's solicitor, Gerard Cullen, said last week the decision to refuse entry involved asking "a few cursory questions" about whether or not his client was a cousin of his host, and about whether he had enough luggage. "Rev Achebe and his host both explained that in Nigeria 'cousin' means a level of consanguinity that prevents endogamy," Mr Cullen said.
"On the basis of such responses, the GNIB - deciding that the Nigerian notion of 'cousin' did not correspond to its notion of 'cousin' and that Rev Achebe's trolley bag should in any case have been much bigger if it were to contain priestly vestments, etc - refused permission to land. There was to be no right of appeal or further enquiry."