BEVERLY HILLS, April 18, (THEWILL) – A Nigerian national in Malaysia, Simon Adavize Momoh, who has been detained at the Semenyih Immigration Depot for the last one month despite having paid his fine for a drink-driving offence, has been served a Deportation Order.
Momoh’s lawyer, Vemal Arasan, who made this last week, said the order for deportation was emailed to the man’s wife, Low Kar Hui, on Tuesday evening, asking her to prepare arrangements for his flight back to Nigeria.
Momoh and Low have been married for eight years and are blessed with two daughters.
He said that according to the Deportation Order, Momoh is deemed a prohibited immigrant pursuant to Section 8(3)(d)(i)(ii) of the Immigration Act.
Vemal also told High Court Judge Ab Karim Ab Rahman during aHabeas Corpushearing to seek the release of Momoh that he had been unable to meet with his client at the detention centre on Tuesday.
He told pressmen that he was unable to have full access to Momoh because the immigration said there was a power outage.
He said he needed to see Momoh to enable them to prepare a proper submission, adding that the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) had agreed for him to liaise with his client.
Judge Karim has set Wednesday this week for a full hearing of theHabeas Corpusapplication.
Vemal told reporters there was no provision in the law to compel Momoh’s wife to purchase a flight ticket for him to leave the country, adding that they may be writing an appeal to the government.
He also said he had asked the AGC to instruct the immigration authorities to allow him to see Momoh on Monday.
Vemal filed theHabeas Corpusapplication on April 1, naming the Immigration Department, the Prisons Department and the Home Ministry as respondents.
Momoh was arrested at a roadblock in Cheras in the early hours of March 15 on suspicion of drink-driving.
He pleaded guilty in court the same day, paid the RM12,000 fine, and Low was told he would be released at 5pm.
However, he has been detained at the Semenyih detention centre since then.
Authorities previously denied access for Vemal and Low to meet Momoh, citing COVID-19 restrictions.
Meanwhile, a church in Kuala Lumpur has called on the authorities to release Momoh.
The Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist, in a statement, urged the Immigration Department to consider the well-being of Momoh’s Malaysian wife and their two young children and not deport the 33-year-old.
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