Nigerians in the UK urge boycott of British Airways

Ellie Keen — Sun, 11 May 2008 01:00:54 +0000

British Airways has been criticised over its handling of a forced deportation and its treatment of Nigerian passengers on a flight from Heathrow airport.

Passengers on board the 27 March BA flight to Lagos began to protest about the manhandling of Augustine Eme, a Biafran independence activist, who was allegedly being restrained by up to five police officers while pleading not to be sent back to Nigeria where he feared he would be killed. (Eme's brother has already been killed and his wife and children are missing.)

The police promptly removed Eme from the flight, but returned to arrest another passenger, Ayodeji Omotade. This prompted other passengers to complain about his detention, which resulted in the pilot ordering all 136 economy class passengers off the flight.

Omotade, who is from Kent, was on the flight to attend his brother's wedding in Nigeria but was detained by police for ten hours following his arrest. In that time police confiscated £1,603 that Omotade had on him, stating that they had strong reason to believe the money came from criminal activities. Omotade was then returned to Heathrow without any money and having missed his brother's wedding. He has also been banned for life from travelling with British Airways.

The flight did eventually go to Lagos, but with only Eme and first class passengers on board. British Airways defended its removal of the economy passengers, on the basis that their behaviour constituted a security threat to staff.

The incident has prompted calls for a boycott of BA from within the Nigerian community in the UK. Over one thousand people signed a petition sent to the Nigerian government demanding a written apology to all the passengers. The petition also called on BA to compensate Omotade and lift the lifetime ban against him, as well as lifting any criminal charges against him. The Nigerian president, Umaru Yar'Adua, has ordered an investigation into the incident at Heathrow.

British Airways recently came under fire from one of its own pilots for ignoring racism amongst its staff. Captain Doug Maughan, who has worked for BA for fifteen years, recently accused management of failing to deal with his complaints about frequent racist remarks made by senior BA employees.

Few Safeguards for Asylum-Seeking Children

Ellie Keen — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 22:23:01 +0000

An investigation by 11 Million, the organisation led by the Children's Commissioner, found that children's basic needs for food, accommodation and legal advice were often not met. The report suggested that ignoring these basic needs impacted upon children's ability to understand and contribute to their screening interviews.

Most unaccompanied child asylum seekers are trafficked or smuggled into the UK and therefore do not claim asylum at the border. The report assessed how children were treated when they presented themselves at the Asylum Screening Unit in Croydon.

One of the greatest concerns regarded the issue of establishing age. Observers from 11 Million found that too much discretion was given to immigration officers in deciding age-disputed cases. Establishing an applicant's age is critical for deciding whether he/she should be provided with accommodation and accompanied by a 'responsible adult' during interviews. While policy mandates that children at asylum screening units are entitled to a 'responsible adult' to guide them through the screening process, no such protection exists for age-disputed applicants, even though their age is undecided.

The report also highlighted other problems detrimental to children's well-being. In the screening units there is a separate waiting room for children but no food is available and no signs for where food or toilets can be found. The 11 Million observers found that children were unlikely to ask for food in such an intimidating, formal environment and that their hunger would negatively impact upon their screening interviews. The observers found that the whole process was too long for children, particularly when they had the added anxiety about where they would be accommodated that night and where they could get food from.

The 11 Million observers found that no written policy exists on how staff should conduct interviews with children, which results in inconsistencies and excessively long interviews. There were also problems found with the content of those interviews. Screening interviews are only intended to establish the applicants' identity and how they made their way to the UK; it should not involve questions on asylum claims. However, in one case, observed by an 11 Million employee, an applicant was asked eighteen questions about his asylum claim without the benefit of prior legal advice. This information can then be used in deciding an applicant's asylum claim.

The report which described the current process as 'frightening, confusing [and] intimidating' recommended that children's immediate needs for food, accommodation, cleanliness and legal representation should be prioritised before the lengthy process begins.

Download a copy of Claiming asylum at a screening unit as an unaccompanied child by the Children's Commissioner for England, (pdf file, 480kb)

Cassandra Cavallaro | ukwatch.net

Nigerians in the UK urge boycott of British Airways

Few Safeguards for Asylum-Seeking Children