A Nigerian woman who was denied asylum in Britain eight times has finally been granted the right to stay after deliberately joining the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
The 49-year-old Nigerian woman, who has not been named, became involved with IPOB in 2017 to "create a claim for asylum," according to a UK judge.
IPOB, although labelled a terrorist organization by Nigeria, is not recognized as such by the UK.
UK Judge's Ruling
The UK upper tribunal judge, Gemma Loughran, ruled that the woman, being part of IPOB, has a “well-founded fear of persecution” if she were to return to Nigeria.
However, Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philip criticized the decision, calling it a “comically ludicrous” interpretation of the European Convention on Human Rights.
The woman had expressed concerns about being arrested at the airport and potentially “disappeared” if she returned to Nigeria.
A lower tribunal judge had previously rejected her claim, citing a lack of evidence about her involvement with IPOB. Judge Iain Burnett concluded that the woman joined the group solely “to create a claim for asylum.”
However, the upper tribunal judge overturned the decision, pointing out that it was likely the woman would be identified as an activist upon her return to Nigeria. The judge added: “It is clear from the country background evidence that the security services act arbitrarily and arrest, harm, and detain those it believes may be involved with IPOB without conducting an assessment of the extent of their involvement or their motivation.” (MailOnline).
