Fort Erie family of 10 deported to Nigeria Thanksgiving weekend

Brent Jones
October 14, 2025 at 3:39 AM

A Fort Erie family of 10 has been deported to Nigeria after their refugee claim was denied under federal immigration law, despite widespread community support and last-minute appeals to halt their removal.

The family–mother Taiwo Fayemi and her nine children, aged four to 19–left Canada on Sunday after being ordered deported by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).

Fort Erie Radio confirmed late Monday afternoon that local advocates had not yet received word of their safe arrival.

“We are waiting for an update from the family to confirm their safe arrival in Nigeria,” said Martha Mason, executive director of the Fort Erie Multicultural Centre, in a written statement to Fort Erie Radio.

Mason had spoken publicly in support of the family earlier this month, telling CHCH News that the situation “feels hard and it would be nice if there were some other options.”

Fayemi told CHCH that she feared for her children’s safety if deported.

“It’s just like, the government that we seek refuge from here in Canada, is putting the whole family in a body bag and sending us back to our country,” she said in an emotional interview.

The family had lived in Fort Erie for three years after crossing into Canada from the United States through Roxham Road, a rural crossing point between New York state and Quebec that gained national attention for irregular border entries.

According to CTV News, Fayemi said the family decided not to return to Nigeria after her husband, Afeez Fayemi, was kidnapped there during a political dispute.

After the story of the Fayemi family made national headlines over the weekend, some social media users questioned why their original refugee claim was considered, as the Canada-U.S. Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA) generally requires those seeking refugee protection to make their claim in the first safe country they arrive in–in this case, the United States.

But the Fayemis crossed into Canada in 2022 when the STCA applied only to refugee claims made at official border crossings. Asylum seekers who entered between ports of entry, such as at Roxham Road, were still permitted to make a claim once inside Canada.

It wasn’t until 2023 that the agreement was expanded to include the entire border, closing the Roxham Road route, but those changes did not apply retroactively to those who entered beforehand.

Fayemi told CTV News her claim was denied because she was unable to provide evidence that her family faced imminent danger if returned to Nigeria. Credit: CTV News

According to CTV, Fayemi’s original refugee claim was denied after federal authorities determined that she had not provided sufficient evidence the family would face persecution or harm if returned to Nigeria, which resulted in a deportation order.

In an interview with CTV on Saturday, Fayemi said one of her daughters, Amirat, has acute myeloid leukemia and remains in need of bone marrow treatment in Ontario.

She told CTV that the family had filed a humanitarian and compassionate application with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada earlier this year, but that their deportation date arrived before their latest application was reviewed.

A CBSA spokesperson told CTV that the agency “has a legal obligation to remove all foreign nationals found to be inadmissible to Canada under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act” and that such removals “play a critical role in supporting the integrity of Canada’s immigration system.”

In Fort Erie, members of the community, including local soccer teammates of Fayemi’s children, rallied in support of the family before their departure. Supporters said they had written letters and emails to federal officials in hopes of a reprieve, though no response has been reported.