A Nigerian man who claimed he fled his native country after two of his children were killed and he had refused to take part in rituals involving human sacrifice has secured leave from the High Court to challenge the refusal to grant him asylum here.
Mr Justice Roderick Murphy granted leave to Uzoma Iroegbu, a Nigerian of Igbo ethnicity, to bring a judicial review challenge against the State, the Minister for Justice and the Refugee Appeals Tribunal over the decision not to grant him asylum.
Mr Iroegbu claims he fled Nigeria in February 2002 having refused to take over his late father's kingship of his home village.
He said he had refused because to do so would involve rituals that included human sacrifice. As a result, both he and his family were threatened. Two of his sons were killed and he and his wife fled to another village. However, they were subsequently discovered and his wife was badly assaulted.
Mr Iroegbu claims that, with the aid of a Catholic priest, both he and his wife had fled Nigeria, leaving their three remaining children with relatives.