A Nigerian woman who failed eight asylum attempts was finally granted the right to stay in Britain after joining a terrorist organisation, which a judge acknowledged she only did to boost her claim.
The 49-year-old woman joined the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) in 2017, six years after arriving in the UK.
IPOB, which has been blamed for acts of violence against the Nigerian state, is banned as a terrorist organisation in Nigeria but not in the UK.
Upper Tribunal Judge Gemma Loughran ruled the woman had a “well-founded fear of persecution” despite noting she wasn’t honest about her political beliefs.
IPOB has been blamed for acts of violence against the Nigerian stateGetty/ReutersThe woman had submitted eight different appeals after being rejected for UK residency over a 10-year period.
These included claims under Article Eight of the European Convention on Human Rights, which guarantees right to a family life, and assertions she was a victim of trafficking.
All were rejected before her ninth appeal, where she claimed persecution risk due to IPOB membership.
She cited her attendance at IPOB protests and rallies, warning she could be “disappeared” if returned to Nigeria.
The woman was supported by IPOB’s UK-based medical director, who detailed her roles within the group.
Lower tribunal judge Iain Burnett initially rejected her claim, citing limited evidence of protest activities.
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Shadow home secretary Chris Philp called the decision ‘absurd’
PA
However, Judge Loughran overturned this decision, despite accepting the woman’s IPOB involvement was not “a true reflection of her genuinely held political views”.
Judge Loughran ruled there was a “reasonable likelihood” Nigerian security services had identified her as an IPOB activist.
“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,” she said.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp branded the case “patently absurd” adding: “This shows judges are inventing new and comically ludicrous interpretations of vague European Convention on Human Rights’ (ECHR) articles in order to allow foreign criminals and illegal immigrants to stay in the country.”
He added: “This is an abuse of the power judges have been given to interpret vague ECHR articles.”
Sir Keir Starmer said his cabinet was looking at closing legal loopholes
REUTERS
The case emerges amid other controversial immigration rulings this week, including an Albanian criminal avoiding deportation over his son’s aversion to foreign chicken nuggets.
At Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer criticised another tribunal decision allowing a Palestinian family entry through a Ukrainian refugee scheme.
“I do not agree with the decision. She is right, it is the wrong decision,” Starmer told Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch.
He emphasised that “it should be parliament that makes the rules on immigration” and said the Home Secretary was examining legal loopholes.