Isa Muazu Explained

Isa Muazu (misspelled in some sources as Ifa Muaza^{[1] [2]}) is a Nigerian man who went on hunger strike while unsuccessfully attempting to claim asylum in the United Kingdom in 2013.

Isa Muazu claimed to have left his home in Nigeria because members of the proscribed Islamist group Boko Haram threatened to kill him if he did not join them. After being held in custody at the Harmondsworth Immigration Removal Centre in the United Kingdom,^[3] he started a hunger strike on 26 August 2013. By mid-November he was expected to die if not released.^[4] An attempt was made to deport him on Friday 30 November,^[5] which failed when the plane was refused access to Nigerian airspace. The attempt is estimated to have cost the Home Office between £95,000 and £110,000.^[6] He was eventually removed from the UK on 17 December 2013.

A 2018 report found that Isa Muazu was living homeless in Algeria after he was forced to flee again from Boko Haram following his return to Nigeria in 2013.^[7]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Isa Muazu: Act now – demand Home Office lifts "death sentence". 20 November 2013. 22 November 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20131124233603/http://ncadc.org.uk/right-to-remain/isa-muaza/. 24 November 2013. dead.
2. Web site: Isa Muazu, the hunger striker and us, the monster. 22 November 2013. 22 November 2013.
3. News: Dying asylum seeker on hunger strike must stay in custody, says high court. 19 November 2013. 21 November 2013. The Guardian.
4. News: Home Office issues 'end of life plan' to hunger-striking asylum seeker. 16 November 2013. 21 November 2013. The Guardian.
5. News: Alan Travis . Failed asylum seeker deported from UK after 100-day hunger strike| UK news . The Guardian . 30 November 2013 . 30 November 2013.
6. News: McVeigh. Tracy. Theresa May under fire for bid to fly out hunger striker Ifa Muaza. The Guardian. 30 November 2013.
7. Web site: Isa Muazu: No Walls, No Boundaries, No Barriers to Justice. No Walls. June 23, 2018. 26 July 2020.