The deportation of Ms Nwokedi
01 November 1993
The use of adhesive tape to restrain deportees being removed from the country has been banned after an internal Home Office inquiry. Adhesive tape has been used on deportee's arms, legs and mouths. This decision came after the use of tape on Joy Gardner, who died, and Ms Nwokedi who was deported to Nigeria on 9 July 1993 (see Statewatch vol 3 no 4). The case of Ms Nwokedi has been taken up by Barbara Roche MP who has written a series of letters to the Home Secretary to try and establish the exact circumstances.
The internal inquiry was based on interviews by an Immigration Service official with the ten people involved: an officer from the Immigration Department (who was present until the plane took off for Lagos), five members of a private security firm, Airline Security Consultants (ASC) (three of whom went on the plane to Lagos), a police officer from the Sussex police a police sergeant and a woman police officer from Hornsey police station, and an employee of Group 4 Total Security Limited. This was the second attempt to remove Ms Nwokedi from the country. On 14 February the attempt was abandoned when the captain of the plane refused to carry her because of her protests.
The inquiry report says that the immigration officer "made it plain" that "she was to be deported to Nigeria". In her statement Ms Nwokedi says: "They told me I had a choice; either go to prison or be deported. I chose to go to prison. Myself and my four year old daughter [Nkechi] were put in a van. We were in the vehicle for hours...at about twelve noon I found myself brought to Gatwick airport".
Ms Nwokedi says: "I was handcuffed and the officer made phone calls for me which I was allowed to say that I had been taken to the airport for deportation". At midday Ms Nwokedi and her daughter were put into a Group 4 van and driven to the plane in advance of the other passengers. Ms Nwokedi was forcibly taken from the van onto the plane.
A contradiction, in the internal inquiry, emerges as to when Ms Nwokedi was first "restrained". The immigration officer says that he "authorised the use of tape" on her legs before she entered the plane, other participants said it was not until she was on the plane. The inquiry report says:
"The handcuffs were applied by two of the ASC escorts after Ms Nwokedi had been taken to the back of the aircraft. Prior authority for their use, if needed, had been given by an Assistant Director in Immigration Service Headquarters. The ASC escorts also wrapped adhesive tape which they carried and which was normally used for securing luggage, around her ankles."
She was then placed in one of the two seats at the back of the plane which were curtained off. The Port Medical Inspector was called to examine Ms Nwokedi and said that she was fit to travel. The internal inquiry questioned the Medical Inspector who was by then working in the United States, the investigating officer spoke to him "on the telephone". It appears no attempt was made to contact Ms Nwokedi by telephone in order to supplement her statement.
Ms Nwokedi's account said:
"When I started crying they forcibly put me down. One of the men, (the big one) sat on my back, another sat on my legs while they tied my legs, knee to my ankle with a broad sellotape. In the struggle my thumbs were broken, and I was bruised all over...about two hours after take off, they removed the handcuffs and removed the sellotape."
The internal inquiry report says the handcuffs and tape was taken off when the No Smoking sign went off.
One of the ASC men said to her: "Don't think I am enjoying this, I am human you know"; he gave her £20 which was all the money she had. When the plane landed at Muritala Mohammed airport in Lagos Ms Nwokedi realised that four deportees were on the plane. "The officials threatened to send me to "Kirikiri" (the worst hard labour prison in Nigeria) unless we gave them some money, so I gave them the £20 note the official gave me on the plane. So the