A Nigerian migrant rights leader, Olukunle Adetunji, is facing deportation from Canada after years of attempts to regularise his immigration status.

According to Canadian media platform CityNews, Adetunji, who has spent years navigating the country’s immigration system, said the prospect of being returned to Nigeria was “worse than being behind bars.”

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Adetunji reportedly travelled to Canada in 2012 and decided to remain in the country.

He married his wife, Kimora, in 2014 but was deported to Nigeria later that year.

He reportedly remained in Nigeria for two years before returning to Canada in 2016 through irregular means.

Following his return, Adetunji and his wife sought to regularise his status on compassionate grounds, hoping to reunite their family permanently.

However, he was arrested by Canadian authorities during the process.

He was initially detained at the Maplehurst Correctional Centre for about a month before being transferred to facilities in Lindsay and Scarborough, and later to Toronto’s Immigration Holding Centre.

Adetunji was subsequently released while attempting to resolve his immigration status, but reports of his planned deportation have since emerged.

Adetunji said deportation would mean separation from his three sons, describing the emotional difficulty of leaving them behind.

“I’ve been taken away from my three boys. I made them promise that I’d never leave them. And, for me to break that promise is…I don’t know, I can’t break that promise,” he said.

He also expressed concern about returning to Nigeria, claiming that he no longer had family connections or a place to live in the country.

“I have no ties with Nigeria. I don’t have a place to stay. It’s like a death sentence,” he added.

His case highlights the personal and family consequences that can accompany prolonged immigration proceedings, particularly for people whose attempts to secure legal status have been unsuccessful.

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The circumstances surrounding Adetunji’s latest deportation notice, including the authorities’ stated reasons and any available legal avenues to challenge the decision, were not detailed in the supplied report.