Nigerian Man Fighting Deportation Tells Irish Court He Was Mistaken For One Of Nine Identical Brothers

A Nigerian national has appeared before a court in Ireland after being charged with obstructing an attempt to deport him from the country.

The accused, Sam Okwuoha, 28, told the court that gardaí had mistaken him for another person, insisting he was not the individual named in the charge, The Irish Times reports.

Okwuoha was first brought before Dublin District Court on Tuesday following an investigation by the Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB).

According to court documents, he is accused of obstructing Det Gda Graham Dillon at Dublin Airport on March 6 during an effort to deport him from the State.

When the charge was read in court, the accused replied, “I am not the person”.

The case later continued before Judge Alan Mitchell at Cloverhill District Court on Friday, where Okwuoha appeared via video link and again repeated his claim, saying, “I am not the person named on the charge.”

Judge Mitchell noted that the allegation was a “summary only” offence dealt with at the District Court level and punishable by a maximum 12-month prison sentence and a fine of up to €2,500.

During the hearing, Det Gda Dillon told the court the offence had not previously been used in such circumstances, stating, “It is the first time we have ever used it”.

The judge also noted from the detective that officers had attempted to remove the accused from the State but that “the removal had to be aborted due to his behaviour”.

When asked whether the offence had been prosecuted before, Dillon replied, “It has not been prosecuted before. I suppose the level of resistance is unusual”.

At the accused’s first appearance on March 10, the detective told the court he had a “lengthy list” of bail objections and said, “we attempted to deport this man and he obstructed the deportation”.

A defence barrister told the court that Okwuoha maintained he was not the person named in the charge. However, the detective responded, “We are 100 per cent confident”.

Counsel also informed the court that the accused claimed to be “one of decuplets”, explaining that he had identical brothers and that he “swapped places with his brother and came to Ireland”.

Bail was refused and the judge granted an adjournment to allow gardaí provide disclosure, remanding Okwuoha in custody to return to court in two weeks to formally enter a plea. (SaharaReporters)