Gardaí drop 'decuplet' man's first-ever deportation obstruction case

Tom Tuite

Gardaí have withdrawn the first-ever prosecution for obstructing deportation brought against a Nigerian man who claimed he was a"decuplet" mixed up with one of his nine identical brothers.

Sam Okwuoha (28), who had remained subject to deportation proceedings since January and had been in custody for months, was set to face a pre-trial hearing at Dublin District Court on Wednesday, July 29th.

However, the case did not proceed following a prosecution application to strike out, and he did not have to attend.

The case stems from a Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB) investigation and Judge John Hughes had sought a psychiatric report on Okwuoha's fitness to plead.

The alleged "decuplet" had insisted his arrest was a case of mistaken identity, leading to his being charged with a single offence under the Immigration Act 1999.

He was accused of obstructing deportation on March 6th at Dublin Airport, after the Minister of Justice, Equality and Law Reform signed the order to remove him on January 6th.

Okwuoha had denied the charge.

Earlier, the court had heard that the man, who had previously lived in Dublin, replied, "I am not the person", when charged, and bail was denied in March.

"It is the first time we have ever used it," GNIB detective garda Graham Dillon had said. He had alleged that officers attempted to remove the accused from the State, "and the removal had to be aborted due to his behaviour".

The GNIB officer has said the charge "has not been prosecuted before. I suppose the level of resistance is unusual".

Dillon disagreed, "We are 100 per cent confident," adding that it had been confirmed by legitimate authorities.

The court was told the accused maintained to be "one of decuplets", 10 children from the same pregnancy.

The proceedings have also heard that Okwuoha had maintained he had identical brothers and that he "swapped places with his brother and came to Ireland".

The detective believed Okwuoha would not appear in court if granted bail, and that he had a history of failing to attend proceedings in the State and for "giving different names, using different dates of birth and identities".

The charge is a "summary only" offence, dealt with at the District Court level, and punishable by a maximum 12-month sentence and a fine of up to €2,500.