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A Belfast resident who escaped sex-traffickers in Italy to give birth to her baby boy in Dublin is now facing Home Office deportation as the child sits his transfer test.

Favour - who is from Nigeria - moved to Belfast from Dublin in 2013 in search of a better life for she and her Irish-born son.

Well known in the south Belfast community where they live, the asylum-seeker volunteers at a local food bank while her little boy is said to be “thriving” at school.

Tim McQuoid solictors have now launched a petition in a bid to help the mum and son after numerous failed attempts to secure asylum in the UK.

But her son has never lived anywhere other than on the island of Ireland and when he talks, it’s with a very strong Belfast accent.

“Her asylum claim has been rejected several times, with the High Court recently refusing to grant leave to seek judicial review of the last decision by the Home Office to reject her further submissions,” McQuoids said in support of her petition on Change.org.

“As a result, the Home Office is now gearing up to remove mother and son to Nigeria.

“Favour is obliged to report to the Home Office in Belfast on Monday morning and will need to make further submissions which, if strong enough, would ensure a stay on the removal.

“Favour is a Nigerian lady who was trafficked to Italy and forced into prostitution there, having been told that she was going to work in a tomato canning factory,” they continued.

“She became pregnant and was taken by car to a hospital in Italy for a forced abortion.

“When she got to the hospital, she managed to escape from her captors and eventually made her way to Dublin in March 2006, where she claimed asylum.

“She gave birth to her son in the Rotunda (Maternity Hospital) in Dublin in August 2006.

“Mother and son found themselves in the ‘direct provision’ system in the Republic,” they added.

“Favour became depressed, while her son missed out on formal schooling, became isolated and prone to outbursts.”

After seven years waiting for her asylum claim to be dealt with, the concerned mother “decided that for the sake of her son, she needed to come up to Belfast”.

Favour then claimed asylum in the UK in May 2013, but it has been rejected several times while the High Court also refused leave to seek a judicial review.

Favour and her solicitor are due to meet with Home Office officials tomorrow, but a friend has told the Mirror both she and her son are under “real threat” of being removed and returned to Nigeria, where they have no immediate family left.

“Her son is thriving and doing really well in school. Favour is well known in the local community and spends a lot of time volunteering at the food bank,” her solicitors’ continued.

“She and her son have done well here - removal to Nigeria would be disastrous for both.

“Favour’s parents are both dead and she has no contact with extended family,” they added.

“She will not be able to raise the money to put her son into school in Nigeria. Favour herself has health issues, physical and mental, which would prevent her from working if she had the right to.”

Now McQuoids plan to help Favour apply to the Department of Justice and Equality in Dublin to have her son made a naturalised Irish citizen, which would enable both to stay in Belfast.

While they await on the outcome of this application, however, the mum and son are “at imminent risk of being sent to a country” the little boy has never known.

The Change.org petition has been launched to gather support for this bid for Irish citizenship from Charlie Flanagan, Minister for Justice and Equality which, if approved, the British Home Office will take into account.

“He was born in Dublin because his mother came to Ireland as safe haven after a terrible ordeal,” said McQuoids.

“Please support him and keep him on the island of Ireland - where he belongs.”