A NIGERIAN father of twin four-year-old Irish-born children has secured leave from the High Court to challenge a deportation order against him.
Mr Justice Bryan McMahon yesterday ruled Kabir Alli had established the required substantial grounds to challenge the deportation order made in January last.
The Minister for Justice made the deportation order based on a report of a Refugee Applications Commissioner but her report, the judge said, did not sufficiently consider the facts relevant to the personal rights of the man’s Irish citizen children.
Mr Alli had made out a substantial case, but the report failed to sufficiently identify a substantial reason which required the deportation of Mr Alli on grounds the facts relating to his family unit were not sufficiently assessed or weighed.
The refugee officer had applied a test to the effect that if there were no insurmountable obstacles to the family being able to establish a life in their country of origin – Nigeria – then the father’s deportation order should stand.
The Supreme Court had stipulated that, in considering whether to deport, the Minister should consider the facts specific to the individual Irish-born child, their age, educational progress, development and opportunities. Mr Justice McMahon said he was satisfied the report in this case did not reflect these principles.
Mr Alli was married in 2003 in Ivory Coast to Mariam Alli. They left Ivory Coast in 2004 and Ms Alli came to Ireland and secured permission to remain under the Irish Born Child 2005 residency scheme. Mr Alli returned to Nigeria when the scheme was in operation. He came back here in 2007 and reunited with his family.