A district court in Minnesota, United States of America, has ordered Immigration and Customs Enforcement to release Michael Opeoluwa Egbele.
Egbele, an illegal Nigerian immigrant who entered the US in 2003, was arrested for a drug offence in 2012.
Senior US District Judge John M. Gerrard on Wednesday gave immigration authorities until February 20 to free Egbele and file a status report confirming his release.
The judge ruled that ICE lacked any legal grounds to keep him in custody given the peculiar circumstances surrounding his detention.
“The government shall immediately release the petitioner from custody subject to and in accordance with the conditions in his preexisting Order of Supervision,” the judge ruled.
“No later than February 20, 2026, the government shall file a status report certifying compliance with this order,” the judge added.
Egbele’s immigration woes first began in 2012 after he was arrested for a drug offence and subsequently charged in court, where prosecutors initiated proceedings for his deportation.
The Nigerian, at the time, applied for asylum and asked the court to withhold his deportation.
An immigration judge denied his asylum request and ordered his removal from the US in July 2012. But ICE neither enforced the removal order nor did Egbele appeal the decision.
