A Nigerian woman, who had previously been denied asylum in Britain eight times, has now been granted the right to remain in the country after joining a IPOB terrorist organization, which she admitted was a strategic move to bolster her claim, CBN reported.
The 49-year-old woman became a member of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) in 2017, six years after her arrival in the UK. The IPOB, known for its violent actions against the Nigerian state, is classified as a terrorist organization in Nigeria but remains legal in the UK.
Upper Tribunal Judge Gemma Loughran recognized the woman’s “well-founded fear of persecution,” even though she acknowledged that the woman’s political beliefs were not entirely genuine.
Over a decade, the woman submitted eight different appeals for UK residency, including claims under Article Eight of the European Convention on Human Rights, which ensures the right to family life, and allegations of being a trafficking victim. All were denied until her ninth appeal, wherein she cited a risk of persecution due to her IPOB membership.
She pointed to her participation in IPOB protests and rallies and warned that she might “disappear” if sent back to Nigeria. Her claims were supported by IPOB’s UK-based medical director, who detailed her involvement with the group.
Though Lower Tribunal Judge Iain Burnett initially rejected her claim due to insufficient evidence of her protest activities, Judge Loughran later overturned the decision. She accepted that while the woman’s involvement with IPOB did not reflect her true political views, there was a “reasonable likelihood” that Nigerian security services had identified her as an IPOB activist.
“The country background evidence clearly shows that the security services act arbitrarily, arresting, harming, and detaining those suspected of IPOB involvement without proper assessment,” Loughran stated.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp criticized the ruling as “patently absurd,” suggesting that judges are creating “comically ludicrous interpretations” of the European Convention on Human Rights to allow foreign criminals and illegal immigrants to remain in the UK. He added, “This is an abuse of the power judges have to interpret vague ECHR articles.”
