Emmanuel Nwanze was eight years old when he went into hiding in the Midlands following the deportation of his mother in March 2005. Having returned to Nigeria in the past few weeks, he has developed malaria and is currently in hospital in Lagos.

"He is so very sick; I am so worried about my poor little boy. After he got left behind by mistake I wanted him to stay in Ireland so he would have a chance of a better life but his mental health was being affected because of being separated from his family and being confused, " Iyabo Nwanze told the Sunday Tribune. "He had to move around a lot and stay with my friends and any time I talked to him he would be crying and asking when he would see me again. He was tormented and not himself and my friends told me he should come and be with me because they were worried about him. I was also very concerned because he could not go to school because he was in hiding and getting an education is so important."

Formerly based in Athlone, Nwanze and her friend Elizabeth Odunsi made national headlines after they were deported to Lagos without some of their children. Three of Odunsi's four children are still in Ireland but Nwanze said she did not know where they were.

On the day of her deportation with her younger son Israel, she maintains the gardai refused to wait for Emmanuel to come home from school.

"They took us in the van and I told them about Emmanuel but they would not turn back even though I was screaming, they would not listen. I would never deliberately leave my child behind. I did not do it to try and stop the deportation." It has never been established how exactly the children were left behind. Gardai have said the women refused to co-operate with them, and the women and their supporters in Athlone have insisted this was untrue.

Upon his arrival in Lagos, Emmanuel was initially delighted and relieved to see his mother and brother again but soon was asking about going back to Ireland. "I am very worried about how he has been affected emotionally by all of this. He thinks we can go back and I'm trying to explain that we can't.

He was in Ireland for six years; that is his home. He can't even speak Nigerian properly; I'm trying to teach him. I'm hoping soon he'll recover from his malaria and then I'll try to get him into school."

Nwanze said she has also struggled with adjusting to life back in Nigeria and has not been able to find work and is living with a friend in cramped conditions as she cannot afford rented accommodation.

A high-profile campaign seeking the women's return was launched in Athlone following the deportation. Nwanze still holds out some hope that the family may be returned to Ireland. "It was our home and was the only hope of a future for my children. I'm appealing from the depth of my heart that we are allowed back. I want to work and contribute in Ireland. It is the only hope for my family."