A 53-year-old Nigerian man has lost his bid to overturn a decision by the International Protection Appeals Tribunal (IPAT) to deny him asylum in the Republic of Ireland.
He had claimed that his refusal to join a cult in his native state endangered his life, saying his father was killed over similar issues. The man, who claimed to be from a royal family, said his father’s spirit had been summoned while he slept and killed while he was seven years old.
Mr Justice Anthony Barr of the High Court said the decision-maker at IPAT found the man was “subjectively credible”, but his fears of persecution were “objectively unfounded”.
The tribunal was entitled to reject the applicant’s assertion that his fear only “crystallised” in 2019 and that he could have sought protection in the United Kingdom, United States or Germany, as he had travelled through those countries.
He held that the IPAT decision of January 2023 was validly made and should not be interfered with by the court.
It was heard that he got an invitation to join the cult in 2008, the same year his wife moved to the UK on a student visa and he joined her on a dependant visa. He was said to have also visited the US before returning to Nigeria in 2011 and got a visa to the UK, where he resided for three years before he and his separated after having children. He also travelled to Germany twice between 2014 and 2019 on his return to Nigeria.
He left Nigeria in December 2020, arriving in this State on a volunteer visa valid until May 2021.
He applied for international protection that April, with the IPO recommending in August 2022 that he should not be given refugee status or subsidiary protection.
His lawyers said the tribunal dealt with information about Nigeria and incorrectly concluded the information is “at best neutral and does not enhance” the man’s claim.
