For more instant updates, join us on BBM 2B81C033
A mentally ill Nigerian woman stands naked on the runway in Lagos and takes an overdose. She has just been deported from Britain. The Home Office calls this ‘Operation Majestic’. The deportation of star pupil Yashika Bageerathi to Mauritius put Home Office practice in the spotlight. Now a new report by the prison inspector gives the full picture. And it includes African asylum-seekers being kicked out of Britain in leg restraints and paper suits.
The most tragic story in the report is about Ms D, a mentally ill Nigerian woman who definitely did not want to go home. When she heard that they were going to deport her, she told them she ‘had nothing in Nigeria’ and threatened to kill herself if sent back. Not surprisingly then, Ms D, ‘was at the extreme of non-compliance, resisting at every point and spitting at anyone who spoke to her’. So to get her out of the country, Home Office contractors placed her in ‘leg restraints for 10 hours 5 minutes and in handcuffs for 14 hours 30 minutes, continuously in each case.’
When the plane landed in Lagos, Ms D was still in handcuffs and had been crying. She did not want to disembark. The report says, ‘She spat at a Nigerian official who approached her and was carried off the plane, still offering considerable resistance.’
What happened next is unbelievable. ‘Half an hour later, she was sitting on the tarmac in front of the plane with nobody communicating with her. She took all the medication, including anti-psychotic drugs that the [Home Office] paramedics had handed to the local officials who had then passed it to Ms D.’
’Nigerian officials subsequently said that Ms D was unfit to remain in Nigeria and wanted her to return to the UK. They brought her to the foot of the aircraft front steps unclothed except for a towel around her shoulders as she had ripped her clothes off.’
’Up to 30 local officials surrounded the foot of the stairs, one of whom pushed Ms D forward. She fell on to the stairs, grabbed the handrail and began to struggle. The aircraft commander, additional Tascor [the escort company] staff, pilot and paramedic all said that Ms D was unfit to fly and needed hospital attention, and approximately half hour later, an ambulance arrived.’
Ms D was taken to a local hospital and according to the Home Office, ’discharged on the same day’. But the Inspectors, ‘do not know what happened thereafter, or whether any dialogue has taken place between the Nigerian and British governments about the way that the incident was handled.’
If you still think the Home Office is a ‘soft touch’ on immigration, then you probably have not heard about its charter flight programme. Unwanted people are packed onto specially hired planes in the middle of the night and sent back in their droves to Nigeria, Afghanistan and Pakistan. The departure airport is kept secret, to prevent protesters from disrupting the flight.
No comments :
Post a Comment