The High Court has refused a Nigerian man an extension of time to challenge the refusal of his asylum application, and dismissed his application for leave to seek judicial review. The ruling did not reconsider or grant refugee status; it concerned whether the late challenge could proceed.
The applicant, identified in the judgment as C. I. A., sought to challenge a Refugee Appeals Tribunal decision refusing him refugee status and a related deportation proposal. He also asked the court to quash those decisions. The tribunal had notified him of its refusal in October 2008. He received it on or around 16 October, and proceedings were initiated in February 2009, about 15 weeks beyond the statutory 14-day period.
The applicant said he was gay and feared execution if returned to Nigeria. The High Court judgment recounts that he said he had been detained and beaten by police after an employer accused him of stealing from a charity, and that police later took him to meet the employer. He claimed he fled to Lagos and left for Ireland. The tribunal accepted that he was gay, had been arrested and beaten, and had travelled to Ireland with an agent’s help. It concluded, based on country information before it, that his claimed fear of persecution was not well-founded.
The applicant argued that the tribunal had failed to assess serious harm, country information and a presumption of future harm arising from his earlier treatment. The High Court rejected those arguments at the leave stage. It found the earlier arrest and assault occurred before police knew he was gay, and that no assault took place during the later encounter. It also concluded that the tribunal had considered the risk of serious harm and was entitled to assess the available information as it did.
On the delay, the applicant’s legal advisers cited the complexity of the case, seeking a second counsel’s opinion, and the Christmas vacation. The judge found the explanation insufficient. The judgment records that the Minister had made a deportation order on 12 February 2009, before the judicial review proceedings issued, and considered that the delay had caused prejudice by affecting the Minister’s ability to rely on the administrative decision.
The court concluded that there was no good and sufficient reason to extend the statutory deadline. It added that, even if time were extended, the applicant had not shown an arguable case for leave. The court therefore dismissed the claim and refused the extension. It made no determination granting refugee status.