A series of crossed wires and failures by a range of agencies have now left the family homeless and living in a hotel paid for by a charity
A FAMILY seeking asylum in the UK has been left"traumatised" by a 12-hour ordeal during which a string of failures saw them leave their home and wait hours in sub-zero temperatures, be picked up by police and then moved across the country to Newcastle then York.
"I had gone through a lot in my life and I was just tired of all of the things that had happened to myself and so we just needed a place of peace yet here we were going through some terrible experiences."I do not know if my son will remember what we went through but I am distressed to think that he might."
Around 3pm the agent sent a member of staff to move the Okwo's belongings from the flat and lock the property, leaving the family in the corridor of the building. They stayed inside, Dr Okwo said, because a yellow weather warning was in place and the temperature outside was below zero. Dr Okwo, who is seeking asylum as a victim of torture in Nigeria, was sure this must be an error and so asked the driver to wait while he contacted Migrant Help to check but the man instead left.
Shortly after this, at 10.45pm, he sends another message reading:"Ok. We are calling the police. You are trespassing in the building." "Not everybody in that corridor knew the Okwos so think of how you would feel for a family of five and all their paraphernalia to be in the corridor, they were beginning to upset the tenants and I spoke to the police then.
A spokesperson for Police Scotland said: “Officers supported a family who had been evicted from their property in Coatbridge. Finally, around 3.20am, the Home Office sent two private hire cars to collect the family who were told they were now going to Newcastle; Dr Okwo travelled in one car with his older son and daughter, Ferdinand and Beauty, while Mrs Okwo travelled with the baby.
The Okwos then endured a further two hour wait in the lobby of the hotel before being picked up again at around 8am and then taken to York.
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