Canada Deports Pastor Who Bribed Nigerian Police to Declare Him Wanted for Asylum Claim

A Nigerian pastor, Lucky Bidemi Olorunfemi, has been deported from Canada after a federal court ruled that his asylum claim was built on fraudulent and doctored documents, including materials allegedly obtained through bribery of Nigerian police officials.

Justice **McHaffie** of the Federal Court in Toronto delivered the decision on **October 16**, upholding an earlier ruling by Canada’s **Refugee Protection Division (RPD)**, which had rejected Mr. Olorunfemi’s refugee application on credibility grounds.

Mr. Olorunfemi, who claimed to be a pastor based in Akure, Ondo State, sought asylum in Canada in 2023. He alleged that his church was attacked and burned by “Muslim Jihadis” in March 2022 because of his pro-LGBTQ teachings and acceptance of gay members. According to his account, the attack forced him into hiding for a year before he fled to Canada.

To support his asylum claim, the pastor submitted four documents:

1. A newspaper report describing the alleged attack,

2. A police invitation letter dated April 2022,

3. A medical report for his wife following an attack in June 2024, and

4. A wanted poster purportedly issued by the *Oodua People’s Congress (OPC)*.

However, the RPD found significant inconsistencies across all four documents. The newspaper report was described as “riddled with spelling and grammatical errors” and nearly identical to Mr. Olorunfemi’s own written account. The police letter and medical report lacked verifiable contact information, while the wanted poster contained multiple misspellings—including “Odoua” instead of “Oodua”—and even identified him under a different name.

Justice McHaffie agreed with the RPD’s assessment, calling the documents “examples of fabricated evidence.” He noted that there were strong indications of “brown envelope journalism”—a term for bribed or paid-for news stories—suggesting that the pastor may have bribed Nigerian authorities and journalists to produce materials supporting his asylum case.

“The RPD was entitled to conclude that the documentary evidence was more likely than not fabricated at Mr. Olorunfemi’s direction,” the judge wrote.

The court further observed contradictions in Mr. Olorunfemi’s testimony, including his claim of poor English skills despite speaking fluently during the hearing. Justice McHaffie said the only undisputed fact in the case was Mr. Olorunfemi’s Nigerian nationality, confirmed through his passport.

Mr. Olorunfemi, represented by Abdul-Rahman Kadiri, argued that the RPD dismissed his claim over minor discrepancies, but the court ruled that credibility and authenticity were central to his case.

“The application for judicial review is dismissed,” Justice McHaffie concluded, affirming that Mr. Olorunfemi’s deportation order would stand.