Student campaign halts deportation

Mark Drybrough, Newcastle University

In January 2005, Courage Idiagbonya, a student at Newcastle was arrested on the morning he was due to sit an exam. Courage had applied for asylum due to fears of persecution for his student activism in his home country Nigeria.

Newcastle students launched a year long campaign to save their friend and classmate from deportation.
A petition and letter writing campaign were launched, with support from the NUS, AUT, NATFHE, UNISON, NUJ and Liberty.

In May, Courage was released from detention, but was rearrested in July. Following a mass phone-in to Virgin Airlines demanding they refuse to deport Courage he was released again.

Courage was granted a judicial review in December, and when new evidence was submitted to the court he was granted the right to appeal.

While his long term future remains uncertain Courage will now be able to remain in Britain for two years allowing him to finish his degree.