Olabode Shoniregun has been banned from self-deporting for a second time (Image: GB News)
A failed asylum seeker claims he has been banned from “self-deporting” himself from Britain for second time.
American Olabode Shoniregun, 28, attempted to board a flight from Heathrow to Las Vegas on May 7 but was blocked by border officials from boarding the aircraft.
It follows a Home Office ruling in December that declared Mr Shoniregun, from Las Vegas, Nevada, was “unfit to fly” at the time of his first attempt, although it was reported officials were trying to remove the US citizen “as soon as possible”.
But five months later Mr Shoniregun, who is understood to have complex medical issues, said he’s still not being allowed to leave the UK. Writing on X, he said: “I’m honestly just trying to get back home safely. PUT ME ON A PLANE ALREADY!! I love Britain and I love the United States; I’m just not too fond of the people trying to detain me.”
GB News reports that Mr Shoniregun told the channel he initially sought asylum in Britain in October 2024 after claiming “persecution as being a black Jewish person who was a member of the Mormon church”.
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Olabode Shoniregun has sought to leave the UK twice but been denied (Image: Instagram)
He told the broadcaster: “I still believe that there is discrimination and social hostility that exists within many societies, including the United States. And I guess the UK authorities determined that my circumstances did not qualify under asylum law.”
The failed asylum seeker also gave his reasons for identifying as a black Jewish Mormon.
He said: “I would consider myself being Jewish because I’m still waiting for like the coming of the Messiah or whatever. And there is no, in my opinion, formal, organised ecclesiastic community that I can block to other than the closely related Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints.”
The university graduate had previously alleged a number of police forces in the US had prevented from him getting a job, and that he had been sexually assaulted by several police officials.
While awaiting his deportation, he lived in a Holiday Inn near London Heathrow, receiving three meals a day and access to an on-site GP in the hotel, he told GB News.
Olabode Shoniregun was prevented from boarding a plane back home to Las Vegas from Heathrow airport (Image: Instagram)
Mr Shoniregun’s mother is understood to live in a $500,000 (£430,000) property in a gated community. In its 22-page letter rejecting his asylum claim, UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) pointed out his religious freedom was “protected under the First Amendment”, and was protected by the Civil Right Act of 1964.
UKVI also said he had no mental nor physical health conditions, and if he could, he’d have been treated in the US.
Mr Shoniregun had previously documented his activity in London on social media, posting videos of himself dining at McDonald’s, and using computers at an Islington library.
Filming himself as walked towards his departure gate, he said: “I’m heading back to Las Vegas. I’ve had a good time here in London and I’m ready to go back home.”
A Home Office spokesman said: “While we do not routinely comment on individual cases, airlines will often require confirmation an individual is fit to fly before a removal can take place.
“We have removed or deported almost 60,000 people who were here illegally, and are removing the incentives that draw illegal migrants to this country.”