A Nigerian mother threatened with deportation believes her disabled daughter will die if they are forced by the Government to return to Africa.

Jumoke Adediwura spoke from the Yarl's Wood Immigration Removal Centre, in Bedford, about her traumatic past - and fears for her family if they are forced relocate to Nigeria.

The 35-year-old, who has lived in Birmingham for four years, was expected to be on a flight back to Africa on Monday night with her British-born daughters Elizabeth, aged three, and Daniella, two. But the family gained a last minute reprieve when it emerged Elizabeth had an ear infection.

As a result, Elizabeth, who has special needs, was unable to receive vaccinations necessary for travel to Nigeria and Ms Adediwura was told by Home Office officials the family would be deported at a later date.

Now her friends are hoping to delay the date further and have been in contact with a human rights lawyer. Elizabeth has since been given a course of antibiotics and it is thought they will have to leave the UK after she has finished the course.

Ms Adediwura said: "Elizabeth has many problems. She has many disabilities. There is no equipment or treatment for her in Nigeria and the treatment is not free.  We have to pay and I am not working and nobody is going to take responsibility for us.

"I am worrying about my children. I don't have friends in Nigeria who can look after me or my children and I don't want to lose them."

She told the Birmingham Post the Nigerian village she was from took the view that disability was a direct punishment from God and she feared Elizabeth would be murdered.

Ms Adediwura said she was separated from the girls' father, who had been deported last year in July and had not supported the family or been in contact.

In tears, she added: "I don't want the government to have compassion for me but because I don't want to lose my children, I need their help. I want them to have compassion for me just because of my children. I want my children - I want to save their lives.

"They know when they get there, there is no equipment for them to survive and they will just die."

Ms Adediwura fled Nigeria after years of abuse at the hands of her family after taking the decision to convert from Islam to Christianity.

She settled in Kings Heath and was keen to integrate. She began an English course, was about to take a computer course and wanted to become a social worker to help the children of other asylum seekers.

Speaking of her time in Nigeria, she said: "My problems began when I was with my family because I changed from a Muslim to Christian.

"My family is Muslim and I didn't want to be Muslim. One day, because I didn't want to go to the mosque and I was holding the bible, they took the bible from me and they were beating me and they told me not to be friends with non-Muslims."

She said her parents took her son from a previous relationship, now aged 13, and forced her to live with a married man.

"They took me to a witch doctor and I did not like that man," she said. "He had three wives and he didn't take care of me and I thought I was going to die.

"I have got one son in Nigeria and after I left my parents house, I had to leave him behind and it was very painful.

"I ran away from one place to another and someone told me to come here as I had fear for my own safety."

 A Home Office spokeswoman said: "We do not comment on individual cases.  The Government has made it clear that it will take a robust approach to removing people from the country where they have no legal right to be here.

"While it is preferable for those with no right to remain in the United Kingdom to return home voluntarily, it is regrettable that not all choose to do so and in those circumstances it may be necessary to enforce removal.

"Removals are always carried out in the most sensitive way possible, treating those being removed with courtesy and dignity, and considering where appropriate any medical conditions."

To view the website set up by Ms Adediwura's friends, visit www.myspace.com/supportjumoke.