The Supreme Court has upheld the deportation of Nigerian national Iyabode Abimbola Oladapo, rejecting an argument that her pregnancy prevented the State from requiring her to leave Ireland.
Ms Oladapo arrived in Ireland in December 1999 and sought refugee status, saying she feared threats from the Ogboni Fraternity in Nigeria. Her application was classified as manifestly unfounded under the asylum procedure then in force, and an appeal was rejected.
A deportation order followed. Earlier judicial review proceedings challenging the lack of reasons for that order were later struck out by consent after a separate Supreme Court decision resolved the legal issue against applicants making similar arguments.
A further deportation order was made in October 2001. By then Ms Oladapo was pregnant. She sought to challenge the order on several grounds, including that deportation to Nigeria would breach the constitutional protection then afforded to the unborn because maternity and neonatal care there was less developed than in Ireland.
Chief Justice Keane rejected that submission. He held that Article 40.3.3° did not prevent the State deporting a pregnant woman merely because healthcare in the destination country was of a lower standard. The State was not seeking to terminate the pregnancy, and accepting the argument would severely restrict the State’s power to deport people with no legal entitlement to remain.
The court also rejected challenges concerning refoulement, the prohibition on returning someone to a place where specified serious risks exist. It held that the Minister had considered that issue and was not required to provide detailed correspondence explaining why it did not arise.
Arguments based on the UN Convention Against Torture and alleged changed circumstances, including the pregnancy and the assassination of Nigeria’s Attorney General, also failed.
The Supreme Court therefore dismissed both appeals and affirmed the High Court orders. The judgment did not decide the immigration status of the child after birth.