A young family endured a terrifying ordeal when they had to leave their Coatbridge home after their father was forced to stop working while waiting for asylum confirmation on his right to work.
Henry Okwo, his wife Blessing, and their three young children Ferdinand, four, Beauty, two, and four-month-old Henry, sought asylum in the UK on December 15, 2022, after fleeing from their home in Nigeria saying they endured torture and consistent threats to their safety.
A masters student at Strathclyde University, Henry had his right to work removed by the Home Office and subsequently was forced to give up the family's flat in Coatbridge, triggering a series of events that saw them being moved hundreds of miles away across the border to a hotel in York.
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The family say they received no emergency support from the Home Office and could not afford milk for their newborn.
They were due to leave their accommodation in January 14, but with nowhere to go, they requested an extension until January 16 from letting agency Aquila Management Services.
On Monday, January 16, Henry and his family left their flat after being assured by Migrant Help that new accommodation would be provided, but after a driver arrived at around 7pm and he was informed they would be taken to York, he believed there must be a mistake.
The family remained in the corridor of the Coatbridge building in order to avoid the sub-zero temperatures outside, with a yellow snow and ice warning in place. At this point, Aquila Management Services insisted the family leave the building.
However, Aquila Management Services say they did not know the family had nowhere to go and believed they would move to a new property. They "vehemently deny" that they evicted them.
Paul Clark of Aquila Management Services said they were "not aware of the tenants back-history of ill-treatment".
At 10.34pm that evening, Mr Clark sent a WhatsApp message to Henry that said: "Hi. I've just been informed you are still in the property. I need to ask you to leave otherwise I will call the police."
Around 10 minutes later, at 10.45pm, he messaged him: "Ok. We are calling the police. You are trespassing in the building."
Mr Clark insist Aquila contacted North Lanarkshire Council who advised him to contact the police. He said police "promised they would attend ASAP" and that he "pressed home the tenant's situation".
He continued: "It was explained that the family were now in safe hands and out of the cold and that they would deal with matters from here in the morning. We assumed this was the end of the matter."
The Okwo family was picked up in a Police Scotland van at around 11pm and drove them to Motherwell Police Station. The family then waited for more than four hours before they were picked up by Mears, who provide accommodation to asylum seekers.
The family stated that police told him there was no room in the police station so they would stay in the van. However, Police Scotland denies this, and says the family had the opportunity to move between the station and the van where their belongings were.
A police spokesperson said: “On Monday, January 16 officers supported a family who had been evicted from their property in Coatbridge.
“To ensure they were comfortable before a partner agency was able to assist them, the family were taken to Motherwell Police Office where they had access to all necessary facilities.
“They were able to use the public area and toilet facilities and chose to go between these areas and their belongings in the van during the time they were waiting. To say anything else would be inaccurate.”
At 3.17am, the family was taken by Mears Group to a Newcastle hotel where they arrived at 6am. However, they were then told there was no room and they slept in the lobby for two hours.
At 8am on January 17, a Mears official informed them they were going to a hotel in York where they remained until Friday, January 20.
Positive Action in Housing was contacted and the charity's homelessness team brought the family back to Glasgow and are staying in a hotel room paid for by an Emergency Relief Fund.
They are now being represented by immigration lawyers McGlashan MacKay.
In a statement, Positive Action in Housing said: "From January 29, [the family] will stay with one of our refugee hosts in Glasgow while our Homelessness Team works with McGlashan MacKay to have them accommodated in Glasgow by the Home Office.
"But it's safe to say, the family are traumatised and bewildered by the way they have been treated despite behaving with the utmost decorum throughout their ordeal. There are many questions to be asked and we will pursue complaints. But this is the tip of the iceberg."
A Mears spokesperson said: “Mears was asked to provide accommodation at short notice and we sent transport to take the family to the nearest hotel contingency accommodation we had available. We understand that the family would have preferred to stay in Glasgow, but this was not possible due to an acute shortage of accommodation.”
A McGlashan MacKay spokesperson said: "We have taken instructions from our client, Mr Okwo, and are in the process of exploring all routes of redress. We support our client's entitlement to Home Office accommodation and support in Glasgow while his asylum claim is determined to enable him to continue his studies at Strathclyde University. This has been an extremely traumatising event for our client and his family and shows the real impact of Home Office decisions.
"We are alarmed that asylum seekers are being moved out of Scotland without notice and without knowledge of their rights especially when individuals are studying or children are at school here. It is important that individuals are accommodated with due regard being given to their particular circumstances."
The Home Office said they do not comment on individual cases. A spokesperson said: “Asylum seekers can work if their claim has been outstanding for 12 months or more, through no fault of their own and they can fulfil a job on the shortage occupation list.
“The Home Office may consider applications for permission to work on an exceptional basis where the applicant does not meet the requirements of the immigration rules.
“However, to allow asylum seekers the right to work sooner would undermine our wider economic migration policy by enabling migrants to bypass work visa rules by lodging unfounded asylum claims here.”
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