The High Court quashed a Refugee Appeals Tribunal decision refusing a Nigerian woman refugee status and sent her appeal back for determination by a different tribunal member. The court found the tribunal had not given adequate reasons for preferring some conflicting country-of-origin information or for overturning an earlier finding that she could not safely relocate within Nigeria.
The judicial review concerned a tribunal decision dated 3 May 2011. The applicant sought certiorari, an order quashing that decision, and a fresh determination of her appeal. In a judgment delivered on 15 July 2015, Ms Justice Stewart granted leave and made the order sought.
The judgment records that the account of the events leading to the asylum claim was not in dispute. The applicant said she had been kidnapped in Nigeria, trafficked to Ireland, held in a house in Limerick and repeatedly raped before escaping. The tribunal accepted that she belonged to a particular social group. Its refusal rested on its conclusions that Nigerian authorities could protect her and that she could relocate to another part of the country, with Abuja mentioned as a possible destination.
On state protection, the judge said the question for the court was whether the tribunal had dealt with the evidence lawfully, not whether protection was in fact available in Nigeria. The applicant had submitted country information presenting a different picture from the material relied on by the tribunal. While the tribunal could decide what weight to give the evidence, it had to explain why it preferred one account over another. The judge was satisfied that it had not given adequate reasons.
The judge also accepted the applicant’s submission that the tribunal had not adequately explained its reversal of the Refugee Applications Commissioner’s finding on internal relocation. The earlier decision had concluded that she could not relocate safely within Nigeria. The tribunal was required to consider the commissioner’s report, and the applicant had referred to that relocation finding in her appeal notice. The court held that the tribunal had not given appropriate reasons for overturning it.
The ruling did not determine whether the applicant qualified for refugee status or whether Nigerian authorities could protect her. It quashed the tribunal’s decision and remitted the matter for a new determination by a different tribunal member.