Nigerian woman loses appeal against refusal of refugee status

A mother of three has lost her appeal against being refused refugee status after she fled Nigeria fearing persecution following the death of her Christian pastor father who was allegedly beaten by Muslims.

The High Court ruled the application for asylum by the woman (40) and for her three children, aged eight, six and four, was correctly rejected by the Refugee Appeals Tribunal.

The woman claimed some Muslims came to their church in Kaduna, in the north, and started beating people, killing her father, in 2010. A friend helped her and her children move to the south where they lived for about three months, it was claimed. When she returned to Kaduna  she was told people from her church had killed the head of the mosque and there were people looking for her. The family arrived in Dublin Airport in 2010 where they applied for asylum, she said.

The Refugee Applications Commissioner said there was no evidence to substantiate her claims. Dismissing the appeal, Ms Justice Carmel Stewart said the grounds for rejecting her application included her failure to seek protection from the Nigerian police. This undermined her claim, the judge said.