At least 300 people have protested at the Department of Justice over the deportation of a Nigerian family from their community in south Dublin, Ireland to South Africa.
Titilayo Oluwakemi Oyekanmi and her three sons, Samuel, Joseph and Genesis, arrived in Ireland in 2023 from South Africa and last year received a deportation order after their asylum application was rejected.
The planned deportation which was supposed to take place on Thursday, February 12, 2026 has been delayed for four weeks after the protest.
Ms Oyekanmi said her family face xenophobic threats and fears for the safety of her three sons if they are forced to return to South Africa.
Letters seeking to overturn a decision to deport the Oyekanmi family to South Africa later this week were handed in to the department on February 10, 2026.
Supporters say the family, which includes three children aged between five and 18 have integrated into schools and sports clubs in the community.
The Department of Justice has said that if a person’s application for international protection is refused and they are ordered to leave the State they must do so.
Among the organisers of the protest was Cara McGuinness, the mother of Charlie who is a school friend of 14-year old Joseph Oyekanmi who attends Gonzaga College.
“Charlie came home to me full of stories about this incredible sportsperson and he was just in awe of this wonderful boy who is kind and heartfelt and who is brilliant in the class.”
Ms McGuinness expressed hope that the Minister for Justice would reconsider the decision to deport the family on Thursday.
“We want to make sure that Joseph, his mum, his brothers, that they feel our support and we want to make sure that the Minister for Justice knows that this is a family that is an addition to Ireland.
“These are good people and they’ve been here for three years. They’ve put down roots in our community and they have added so much to our community and we want them to stay.”
The family arrived in Ireland in 2023 from South Africa which is regarded as a safe country by the Irish State.
Their asylum application and appeal were rejected. Partner and Head of Immigration Law in KOD Lions solicitors Stephen Kirwan who has been representing the family for the last eight to 10 months believes the minister should overturn the decision.
Speaking after the protest, Mr Kirwan said there were matters that were not considered, including the families’ integration into society.
“I believe if the minister does consider the representations that have been made by hundreds of students, hundreds of concerned parents, but also people who know the family, I think it’s a slightly different view to when the initial decision was made. We’re simply saying we understand there’s a deportation order but we also understand that there are exceptional circumstances and either consider them and reject their case if that’s what you’re going to do, or actually listen to what the people are saying here today,” he said.
Many of Joseph’s school friends at Gonzaga College were unaware of his predicament. They knew him as a hugely talented 14-year-old athlete and rugby player who got great grades.
His Gonzaga classmates including Charlie Donovan were amongst those who handed in letters to the department appealing for the family to remain in Ireland
“Joseph’s a great friend and has great friends in school and is a really good student and a really good athlete as well,” he said.
Another classmate Luca Conan said Joseph had been “one of the best people” he had met in school.
“He’s really smart and he really brings up a standard in our class. He’s very kind and caring and it’d be a shame to lose him.”
Sam Kennedy knew Joseph through athletics before they attended Gonzaga.
“I’m in his athletics club. And the moment I came to Gonzaga he introduced me to all the people in my class and made me feel really loved and welcomed.
“Whether it’s on the rugby pitch or athletics, he always gives 100% and works for the team. And he never has a big ego, regardless of how bright he is at his sports.”
Jasper Gilmartin said he and his classmates were shocked when they heard about Joseph’s situation because he always attended a school smiling.
“He always comes into school with a smile on his face. He’s an amazing athlete and it would be horrible to lose him.”
A spokesperson for the Department of Justice said that while it could not comment on individual cases, the department takes “all necessary steps” to manage the international protection process efficiently and effectively, while “ensuring the integrity of those processes is maintained at all times”.
It said people can apply for international protection in Ireland if they have come to escape persecution in their own country or if they cannot return to their country because they have a well-founded fear for their safety.
It noted that both the International Protection Office (IPO) and the International Protection Appeals Tribunal (IPAT) are fully independent in deciding whether or not to grant international protection.
Each application is examined individually on its own merits, in line with national and international asylum law.
“People who have been refused international protection and have exhausted the appeals avenues through the IPAT are entitled to submit a request to review their permission to remain where their circumstances have changed since their initial application.
“If successful, they will be granted permission to remain in Ireland. If the permission to remain review is refused the persons will have the option of voluntary return, which if not accepted will in the normal course lead to the making of a deportation order,” it said.
It concluded that before a deportation order is made, the person is offered assistance to return home voluntarily.
“This is the preferred option and the department runs a voluntary return programme to assist people to return prior to a deportation order issuing,” it said.
Ms Oyekanmi, who has completed her QQI Level 5 in healthcare, had planned to work as a care assistant in Ireland.
“I want my children to be happy, because we had to run away from threats to our lives in South Africa. We escaped kidnapping. That same boy that escaped that kidnapping, now they want to send him back to that same country. The xenophobic attacks are still going on in South Africa,” she said.
“I was born in Nigeria, gave birth to all my children in South Africa. South Africa is not supporting me, my life, my children’s lives, and my children have already settled in Ireland. They are doing very well sports-wise and education-wise.”
Ms Oyekanmi said she mainly wants to stay in Ireland for the health and safety of her three sons, who have settled well into their community in south Dublin, performing well in the classroom and in the sporting arena.
She pleaded to the Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan to allow her family to remain in Ireland.
“I ‘m not here for any benefit from the country. I ’m a hard-working lady. I can work for myself and my children. I want to focus on their future. Their future means so much to me and I don’t want to jeopardize that.”
Julie Clements, who runs the Gathering Grounds Café in Kiltiernan, where Oyekanmi volunteers, said: “Titilayo has documentation as a shop owner in South Africa that, as she put it, thugs came in at gunpoint and told her to leave the community or they would k!ll her. “She said they then tracked her down again, and it’s because Nigerians in South Africa are discriminated against by both blacks and whites.”
