Multiple Italian media reports say that Nigerian footballer, Quaham Babatunde, who was stabbed to death on South Anne Street in Dublin in the early hours of Saturday morning, had been scheduled to be deported from Italy in 2019 after a rape charge.
The Italian media note that Mr Babatunde had been apprehended by Italian state police, and had been sent to a repatriation detention center in Puglia after residency was refused because of allegations of “brawling and rape”.
It is currently unknown how Mr Babatunde then managed to be permitted to lodge an asylum application in Ireland, given that the Dublin regulations specify that an asylum seeker’s application should be processed in the first country of application.
A 2019 report from Gazzetta Di Reggio says that “having reappeared in the Reggio Emilia area, where he was found to be an illegal immigrant, [Babatunde] was taken to the CPR in Bari for expulsion.”
The report says that Quham Babatunde, known as “Mike Obumbo”, 29 years old, was at the time a former promising footballer who played in the Reggiana youth team, as well as in the Nigerian under-20 national team.
Last Wednesday afternoon, at 3:00 p.m., during a check of the territory, the State Police stopped a black Golf on Viale Regina Elena with two Nigerians on board. The driver, a 22-year-old with a residence permit, showed the officers a fake license, while the passenger – Quham Babatunde – had never obtained a license. Therefore, the car was seized and the two were taken to the police station, where the driver was reported for using a false document.
The investigations also focused on Babatunde, a resident of Reggio Emilia and known to the police. The 29-year-old has several police records for brawling and rape. The former striker had asked for a residence permit, but the police commissioner had rejected the request precisely because of his extensive criminal record. Following the denial of the request, the 29-year-old effectively became an illegal immigrant.
The news report gave some detail on the rape allegation made by a 22-year-old Nigerian university student, who Babtunde had reportedly met at a nightclub.
“I’ll take you home in a taxi,” “Mike” allegedly told the girl at the end of the evening: he was returning in a taxi, so they might as well take it together, with the agreement that he would take her home first. Once they got into the car, however, according to the prosecution, “Mike” ordered the taxi driver to go to Mezzavia, to a house where the 29-year-old was staying. There, according to the girl’s story, Mike allegedly abused her, raping her for hours. The following morning, the victim went to the police station to file a complaint, identifying Babatunde thanks to the tattoos on his body.
In the meantime, Babatunde had disappeared; the Padua police found him after three months of searching. At the validation hearing, the 29-year-old denied it, stating that the relationship had been consensual: “That night I drank too much. When I got into bed she was under the covers, naked. Why didn’t she scream if she didn’t want to? After two intercourses she wanted a third, but I fell asleep.”
The news report added that after being stopped by the police in Reggio, “Babatunde has been reported for illegal immigration and placed at the disposal of the Immigration Office”.
A dozen police officers were tasked with accompanying the 29-year-old – together with a 42-year-old illegal Albanian, recently released from prison after serving a sentence in October 2017 for drug dealing – to the repatriation detention center in Puglia.
Other Italian media outlets has similar stories on the alleged rape charges against Mr Babatunde and the planned deportation back to Nigeria from Italy.
From Il Resto del Carlino Chronicle’s report:
The officers seized the vehicle and the two were taken to the police station. And here, after further investigation, it was ascertained that Babatunde had requested a residence permit, but his application had been rejected. Thus, the complaint for illegal immigration was filed and he was subsequently taken to the CPR in Bari where he was taken today (together with a 42-year-old Albanian, released from prison after a conviction for drug dealing in October 2017) and from which he will then be expelled and repatriated to Nigeria.
The Irish Mirror has reported that Mr Babatunde’s friends had confirmed to them that the former footballer was previously accused of rape in Italy, but that they believed him to be innocent of the charges.
In relation to the killing of Mr Babatunde on Saturday morning, it has emerged that two of the suspects are out on bail – one in regard to an alleged knife possession related offence, while another was released on bail on charges relating to drugs and an improvised firearm charge.