Nigerian mother in hiding arrested in Sligo

A Nigerian mother who had been in hiding for five weeks was arrested by gardaí yesterday.

Pamela Izbekhai was arrested in Co Sligo minutes after leaving a meeting with a social worker.

Local people who had been campaigning for Ms Izbekhai to be allowed to stay in Ireland questioned last night how gardaí could have known she was meeting a social worker yesterday.

A spokeswoman for the Health Service Executive refused to comment on any aspect of the case, saying any identification of children in care was illegal.

It is understood the social worker had no knowledge of the Garda operation and was surprised by the arrest.

Before the arrest, a reunion had been arranged for this morning between Ms Izbekhai and her daughters, Naomi (5) and Jemima (3), whom she has not seen since December 8th. However, Ms Izbekhai was taken to Mountjoy women's prison last night.

This morning her solicitors will make an application in the High Court in Dublin seeking a judicial review of her case. Ms Izbekhai recently made a plea to the Minister for Justice to lift the threat of deportation.

She says her daughters will be subjected to circumcision if they are forced home. Her first daughter, Elizabeth, bled to death in 1994 at the age of 19 months after undergoing this procedure.

Local people, carrying night lights and placards, held a silent vigil outside Sligo Garda station as Ms Izbekhai was driven away by immigration officers and taken to Mountjoy. Her children are understood to be still in foster care, but it was unclear whether arrangements have been made to fly the family to Nigeria.

Ms Izbekhai went into hiding after immigration officers acting on a deportation order arrived at Globe House, a centre for asylum seekers in Sligo, to pick her up.

Her application for asylum was turned down on appeal.