2022 RLLR 124
Citation: 2022 RLLR 124
Tribunal: Refugee Protection Division
Date of Decision: February 25, 2022
Panel: S. Williams
Counsel for the Claimant(s): Adetayo G. Akinyemi
Country: Nigeria
RPD Number: TB8-23088
Associated RPD Number(s): TB8-23148, TB8-23149
ATIP Number: A-2023-01023
ATIP Pages: N/A
DECISION
[1] MEMBER: These are the reasons for the decision in the refugee protection claim of Ms. XXXX XXXX, the principal claimant, as well as her two minor children, XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, who claim to be citizens of Nigeria and are claiming refugee protection pursuant to Sections 96 and 97.1 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. File number for the claim is TB8-23088. In rendering these reasons I’ve also applied the Chairperson’s Guidelines on women refugee claimants fearing gender related persecution.
[2] The specifics of the claim are set out in your Basis of Claim form. In summary, you allege that you face a risk of persecution at the hands of your ex-husband in Nigeria as you have been a victim of domestic violence throughout your marriage and after your marriage ended, and because your husband has threatened to kill you and to kidnap your children.
[3] I find that you are a Convention refugee as you have established a serious possibility of persecution on account of your membership in a particular social group as a female fearing gender-based persecution and domestic violence. I find that your children are Convention refugees as you have established that your children face a serious possibility of persecution on account of their membership in a particular social group, family members.
[4] In terms of your identity, I find that your personal identities and identities as nationals of Nigeria has been established by your oral testimony as well as the copies of the Nigerian passports filed in evidence at Exhibit 1.
[5] With respect to the nexus, your fear of persecution is linked to the Convention ground of membership in a particular social group, that being referring to being a woman, women fearing gender-based persecution and domestic violence, and your children’s fear of persecution is connected to the Convention ground of membership in a particular social group of family. Accordingly, the claims are assessed under Section 96 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.
[6] In terms of credibility, I find that you are a credible witness. You testified in a straightforward manner. There were no inconsistencies in testimonies or contradictions between your testimony and the other evidence that is before me that has not been satisfactorily explained. Therefore I find that you are credible and that the allegations you laid out in your testimony and in your Basis of Claim form have occurred as you have alleged.
[7] You explained that you suffered a long history of domestic violence abuse at the hands of your ex-husband, Mr. XXXX XXXX, and that your children were also victims of abuse and intimidation by their father, Mr. XXXX. You testified that you took measures to protect them from being exposed to abuse often. You provided information in your narrative as well as your testimony regarding your husband’s social status as a former XXXX and member of the All-Progressive Congress, APC, the ruling party of Nigeria, and his involvement in politics around the year 2009. You described your knowledge of his involvement in politics as you observed him participating in political rallies and meetings and that he contested for political positions.
[8] You explained that your ex-husband blamed you for his failure in a certain political endeavour as he stated that the family court matters related to your file for child support against him had negatively impacted his reputation. You stated that you fled Nigeria after suffering continuous harassment including numerous telephone calls, threats to your life, and threats to harm your children made by you ex-husband, his relatives, and his friends.
[9] After you left Nigeria your husband continued to display an interest in harming you as he has brought police officers to your family home around the year 2018 to arrest you on false accusations that you stole funds from him during your marriage. You provided documentary evidence in support of your claim. This is found at Exhibit 5. I will highlight some of the most relevant documents here.
[10] Firstly, there is a copy of your marriage certificate to Mr. XXXX XXXX, and photographs of your wedding. You also provided a copy of the dissolution of marriage divorce document. You provided additional legal documents from Nigeria at pages 25 and 26 and these demonstrate that you have sole custody of your two children and that you filed for child support from your ex-husband. There are also two letters of support here, one from your sister as well as one from your uncle.
[11] And lastly I’ll highlight that there is a biopsychosocial assessment report from a mental health professional and this report describes your experience with symptoms of XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. The report also describes incidents of abuse against your children perpetrated by your ex-husband as you reported to the mental health professional. I find the above listed documentary evidence to be detailed, relevant, and to corroborate your allegations as stated in your Basis of Claim form and your oral testimony, and I give full weight to the documents listed above.
[12] In light of the evidence before me, I accept on a balance of probabilities that you were married to a man named Mr. XXXX XXXX, that you and your children were the victims of physical and emotional abuse at the hands of your ex-husband, that he threatened to end your life, and that your ex-husband is a former XXXX and member of the All-Progressive Congress. I accept on a balance of probabilities that your ex-husband continued to show interest in harming you after you fled Nigeria, and that members of his network including police officers have aided him in his efforts to control you in the past.
[13] On the issue of subjective fear, you testified that you travelled to United Kingdom and United States of America and that this travel did occur after you began suffering from domestic abuse at the hands of your husband. I’ve considered whether your decision not to claim asylum in the United Kingdom and United States undermines your subjective fear or detracts from your credibility.
[14] You explained the reason you did not claim asylum during your travel to United Kingdom is because you believe that you could manage the situation. You explained that you had already left your marriage and for these reasons you felt that you would be safe if you returned to Nigeria. I find your explanation to be reasonable. Considering the fact that your marriage had ended during your trip to UK, I find that it’s understandable that you believed that you may no longer face a significant risk of harm at the hands of your ex-husband at that particular time. I accept your explanation and I find that your decision not to claim asylum in the UK does not undermine your subjective fear or detract from your overall credibility.
[15] You testified that you also travelled to the United States and you discussed one particular trip in the year 2018 where you travelled to United States prior to entering Canada. You explained the reason you did not claim asylum in the United States in the past is because you believed that your children would not obtain proper treatment if you resided in the United States.
[16] You testified about a personal experience you had at which time police officers questioned you about your intentions in the United States. You explained that you were also aware of certain information about the Trump administration which made you feel that it would be safer for you to seek protection in Canada. I find your explanation to be reasonable.
[17] I accept on a balance of probabilities that you made the decision not to claim asylum in the USA due to personal experiences and your understanding of the Trump administration policies. I find your decision not to claim asylum in the USA under these circumstances does not undermine your subjective fear or detract from your overall credibility.
[18] I’ve also considered the Chairperson’s Guidelines on women refugee claimants fearing gender related persecution and I’ve thus taken into account your state of mental health at the time you fled Nigeria, including your history of trauma and your lack of trust in authorities, which may be related to other experiences you testified about today such as your experience having become aware of police abuse of power in Nigeria. For these reasons I find that your credibility and your subjective fear have been established on a balance of probabilities.
[19] In terms of the well-foundedness of your fear of persecution. I’ve considered the objective basis of your claim and I find that your allegations are consistent with the objective documentary evidence concerning gender related violence in Nigeria. Domestic violence is described as very prevalent in Nigeria including physical, sexual, and psychological abuse. I’m referring here to information found in the National Documentation Package for Nigeria or the NDP. This is NDP item 5.2.
[20] There is additional information in the NDP package at item 5.3 and it discusses the high level of prevalence of domestic violence, specifically discuses here incidents of intimate partner violence, abuse by husbands. It says 30 to 50 percent of women have experienced domestic violence in Nigeria.
[21] Also at NDP 2.15 the United Nations Human Rights Council reports that domestic violence and gender-based violence has been on an increase in Nigeria and the relevant authorities have not given adequate attention to the issue. Accordingly, I find your fear of persecution in the form of domestic violence in Nigeria to be objectively well-founded.
[22] Now in terms of state protection. You testified that your ex-husband utilized the support of other state actors including police officers in his efforts to harm you and threaten you in the past. Therefore you believe that Nigerian authorities are corrupt and that the agent of persecution would be able to influence government agents and prevent you from accessing state protection.
[23] The objective evidence before me is consistent with your allegations surrounding police protection for victims of domestic violence in Nigeria. The United States Department of State report indicates that victims and survivors have little or no recourse to justice. And here I’m referring to NDP item 2.1 and it also addresses the risk to children, stating that child abuse remained common throughout the country and that the government took no significant measures to combat it. It also says here that despite the introduction of the Violence Against Persons Prohibition Act to address physical violence including spousal battery, domestic violence remained widespread and many considered it socially acceptable.
[24] There is additional information here including the fact that sources report police often refused to intervene or placed blame on the victim of domestic violence abuse and that they often consider this a family affair. In summary, the evidence shows that the laws in place and the mechanisms of protection for domestic violence are not effective at an operational level.
[25] Also additional information here, I’m referring to NDP item 1.22, this speaks to state protection generally in Nigeria. It says that Nigerian Police Force is the principal law enforcement agency in Nigeria and it’s often described as corrupt and violent. It discusses inefficiencies in the justice system and the fact that police officers are the public officials whom bribes are most commonly paid in Nigeria. And what would be relevant in this particular case is that reports indicate that the National Police Force focuses its’ resources on protecting important persons including politicians and wealthy individuals rather than community policing. I say this is particularly relevant considering the fact that in this case the agent of persecution is a former XXXXand is someone who continues to be associated with current politicians and individuals who are members of the police force currently. Accordingly, I find that adequate state protection would not be available to you in Nigeria.
[26] I’ve also considered whether a viable Internal Flight Alternative may exist for you in the city of Lagos however, I find that you have demonstrated that you face a serious possibility of persecution throughout Nigeria. You provided testimony about your husband’s social status including the fact that he is a former XXXX, member of the ruling party of Nigeria, and that he is well connected to other influential people in Nigerian society, including a high-ranking police officer, that being his brother.
[27] The objective evidence before me confirms that the APC party has governed the country of Nigeria since the 2015 elections and this is found at NDP 1.4. The evidence from the NDP clearly demonstrates widespread corruption and violence committed by Nigerian authorities sponsored by politicians, and information on this subject can be found in a variety of places in the National Documentation Package. For example, there is information at NDP item 1.3, 1.4, 7.29, and 1.13, and considering the fact that the Nigerian Police Force operates nationally, I find that this poses a risk to you even in the IFA location.
[28] Given that the agent of persecution is a former XXXXand member of the APC party, I find on a balance of probabilities that the agent of persecution and his political network have the means of locating you and your children in the IFA location by use of political and government resources, including police assistance. Considering the fact that the two of you were married and that he is the father of your minor children, I find that the agent of persecution has ample personal information about each of you which could be used to assist him in locating you in the IFA location.
[29] I find that the agent of persecution would be motivated to locate you in the IFA location because he has accused you of interfering with his political ambitions, and because he has demonstrated his continued interest in harming you and maintaining power and control over you by continuing to threaten you, harass you, and attend the home of your relatives even after your marriage ended. I’ve also considered the nature of domestic violence relationships and considered the fact that you endured physical, emotional, and financial abuse at the hands of your ex-husband for many years including threats to your life dating back to around the year 2006, I find the fact that your ex-husband engaged in controlling and manipulative behaviours for such a long duration of time demonstrates his firm intent to maintain control over you and the children.
[30] For these reasons I find the Internal Flight Alternative test fails on the first prong, and on a balance of probabilities the agent of persecution could locate you and your children in the IFA location. Accordingly, I find there is no viable Internal Flight Alternative for you.
[31] Having considered all of the evidence in this case, I find that there is a serious possibility that you and your children would face persecution if you returned to Nigeria. Therefore I accept the claim and conclude that you are Convention refugees in accordance with Section 96 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.
——— REASONS CONCLUDED ———