Community in Fort Erie rallies behind the Fayemi family as urgent appeals are filed to halt removal
Fort Erie, ON – October 12, 2025 — A Fort Erie family is making a desperate, last-minute plea to stop their deportation to Nigeria, a move they say will put their 13-year-old daughter’s life in grave danger. Amirat Fayemi, who was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia in 2022, is currently receiving specialized treatment in Windsor, Ontario. Her doctors have warned that her survival may depend on a stem cell or bone marrow transplant from one of her siblings. However, all of them are now scheduled to be deported from Canada, drastically reducing her chances of survival.
On Saturday, friends, neighbours, teachers, and classmates gathered outside the family’s Fort Erie home in a show of solidarity. Rows of chairs lined the driveway as community members came together to support the Fayemis during what they described as a heartbreaking and unjust situation. Inside the house, Taiwo Fayemi, a mother of nine, packed their belongings with tears in her eyes, fearing this would be their final day in Canada.
“It is traumatizing for me. I never ever ever dreamt this day would come,” Taiwo told CTV News. “Even the little kids ask me, ‘why are we packing?’ I could not tell them.”
Taiwo lives with her nine children, aged four to nineteen, six of whom are her biological children and three stepchildren. One of her daughters, Amirat, has spent the last three years in and out of hospital fighting a severe form of leukemia. The hospital has informed the family that, due to their immigration status, they are no longer covered by the provincial health plan and must now pay for Amirat’s treatment out of pocket.
“Her condition is really worsening and she will very likely need stem cell or bone marrow donation from one of her siblings,” explained Nicole Arghandewal, a postgraduate law student at York University who is assisting the family with legal support. “If her siblings are deported, we are cutting her chances to survive this acute form of cancer almost down to zero.”
The family fled Nigeria after the children’s father, Afeez Fayemi, a member of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, was kidnapped due to his political involvement. He later escaped and remains in hiding. While the family was visiting the United States in 2022, Amirat became severely ill and was airlifted to a hospital, where she was diagnosed with leukemia. Fearing for their safety in Nigeria, the family crossed into Canada from New York through Roxham Road, a major irregular border crossing point for asylum seekers at the time.
Since arriving in Canada, Taiwo has trained and worked as a personal support worker in Fort Erie while raising her children and supporting them through school and community life. The family integrated into the local community, volunteering and contributing in meaningful ways. However, their refugee claim was denied after CBSA officers stated that they did not provide sufficient evidence that they would face harm if returned to Nigeria. According to Taiwo, the family was not present when the kidnapping and threats occurred and was therefore unable to gather evidence.
On March 3, 2025, the family submitted a humanitarian and compassionate permanent residency application to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). However, their deportation date was scheduled before this application could be heard. In a last-minute effort to stop the removal, the family’s legal team submitted an emergency deferral request to IRCC and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) on Friday, urging the government to intervene and allow the family to remain in Canada while their case is reviewed.
CBSA spokesperson Rebecca Purdy stated that the agency “has a legal obligation to remove all foreign nationals found to be inadmissible to Canada under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act,” adding that humanitarian and compassionate applications do not automatically stay deportation unless stage one approval is granted.
The Fort Erie community has mobilized in support of the family, expressing outrage and heartbreak over the situation. Community members emphasize that deporting the family not only places them at risk of violence in Nigeria but also endangers the life of a critically ill child who has spent nearly three years receiving life-saving medical care in Canada.
The family and their supporters are calling on federal authorities to urgently intervene and halt the deportation on compassionate and medical grounds. As the clock ticks down, the Fayemis hope that Canada — a country they have worked hard to contribute to — will show compassion and protect a child’s chance at life.