Ireland has deported a 28-year-old Nigerian national, Sam Okwuoha, who was convicted in Scotland of terrorism-related offences involving threats to commit mass murder and bomb a university.
Okwuoha was among six Nigerian nationals deported from Ireland on a chartered flight that departed Dublin Airport on July 28, 2026.
The aircraft stopped in Rome as part of a joint Frontex removal operation before continuing to Lagos.
Irish authorities had previously identified Okwuoha as a national security concern and initiated deportation proceedings after he travelled to Ireland.
Earlier efforts to remove him reportedly failed after he resisted officers from the Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB) during a forced removal operation.
He was subsequently prosecuted for obstructing the enforcement of a deportation order.
During court proceedings, Okwuoha challenged the prosecution by claiming that he was one of 10 identical brothers born as decuplets and that Garda officers had mistaken him for one of his siblings.
His case was listed again this week, but the court was informed that the prosecution was being withdrawn.
Security sources subsequently confirmed that he had been removed from Ireland.
Okwuoha was convicted in Scotland in 2023 of several terrorism-related offences committed at the University of Dundee between 2021 and 2022.
He was an international energy studies student at the university and had reportedly made advances towards a fellow student before making a series of threats after being rebuffed.
A Scottish jury found him guilty of threatening to murder university staff, threatening to commit terrorist acts and making threats of mass murder.
He was also convicted over claims that he would use biological weapons, behead police officers and had planted bombs at the university.
Okwuoha further claimed that he had enlisted the support of the Islamic State militant group to bomb the university and threatened to launch a chemical attack in Dundee.
He was sentenced to 40 months in prison.
The presiding judge subsequently ruled that his presence in the UK was “not conducive to the public good” and ordered his deportation.
Okwuoha later travelled to Ireland, where he came to the attention of the Gardaí before being detained.
Irish authorities subsequently commenced deportation proceedings after raising concerns that he posed a risk to national security.
Confirming the deportations, Irish Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan said deportation orders had been enforced against six Nigerian nationals.
He said five of those deported had accumulated a combined 35 criminal convictions.
“Our immigration system must be rules-based and robust,” O’Callaghan said.
“The enforcement aspects of our laws, including deportation orders, are an essential requirement for the system to work effectively and to ensure there is public confidence in the application of our legislation in this area.
“I will take action if our laws are not upheld, and this includes enforcing deportations for individuals involved in criminality and who pose a danger to society,” he said.
