LAWYERS FOR Nigerian woman Pamela Izevbekhai and her two daughters are to seek a High Court injunction this morning to block the family's imminent deportation.
This follows a decision yesterday by Minister for Justice Brian Lenihan not to use his discretion to consider their applications for "subsidiary protection".
Ms Izevbekhai last week lost a lengthy legal battle to remain in Ireland. She had argued that she lost a baby daughter as a result of female genital mutilation in Nigeria and fears for the lives of her other two daughters, Naomi (7) and Jemima (5), if the family is deported.
In a letter received yesterday by her solicitor, Gabriel Toolan, however, the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) said the Minister "has decided not to exercise his discretion to accept and consider the subsidiary protection applications."
A subsequent request from Mr Toolan for an undertaking not to deport his client pending further consideration of his position was rejected.
"Please note that the undertaking sought is not forthcoming and that the deportation is now an operational matter for the Garda National Immigration Bureau," a letter from INIS stated.
Ms Izevbekhai's lawyers will today argue that further corroborative material has recently become available on the death by blood loss of her first daughter, Elizabeth, at 17 months. They will also argue that some witnesses in the case have been intimidated in Nigeria.
The mother and her two children presented themselves at Balseskin Reception Centre in north Dublin yesterday morning, where they have been told to reside until their deportation.
Ms Izevbekhai has not been given a date for her deportation but her solicitor said she was extremely distressed by the situation and had only half of her belongings with her in Balseskin yesterday.
Earlier this week, Green Party TD Ciarán Cuffe wrote to Mr Lenihan to request that he allow Ms Izevbekhai and her family to apply for subsidiary protection, and that he consider granting the applications.
He told The Irish Timesthis was a "very tragic case" and said he hoped the Minister would consider all the relevant facts.
"From speaking to Pamela, I know she is terribly concerned. I think she and her daughters face a very uncertain future if they are sent back to Nigeria," he said.
The case was also taken up by a number of NGOs, including the National Women's Council, Women's Aid and the ISPCC, who wrote to the Minister expressing concerns for the safety of Ms Izevbekhai's daughters if they were returned to Nigeria.
In a letter to the Minister, the groups argued that the State had a duty to protect the two children.