Woman who tried to gain asylum eight times allowed to stay in UK - after she joined terror group
13 February 2025, 08:33
A Nigerian woman who tried eight times to secure asylum in Britain was finally granted the right to stay after joining a terrorist organisation just to boost her claim.
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The woman, 49, who has not been named, arrived in Britain in 2011 and was initially refused leave to remain in 2013.
She appealed eight times, citing her right to family life, then arguing she was a victim of trafficking, then the next year she said she needed political asylum, but this was also rejected.
She eventually became involved with the Indigenous People of Biafra (Ipob) in 2016. The separatist group, who were waging a small-scale guerrilla war against the state, were designated a terror group in Nigeria, but not in the UK.
A judge, who gave her the right to stay, acknowledged she was not being honest about her political beliefs and became involved with Ipob “in order to create a claim for asylum,” the Telegraph reports.
Read more: Albanian criminal’s deportation halted because son doesn't like foreign chicken nuggets
Upper tribunal Judge Gemma Loughran found the woman was not “motivated by a genuine political belief”, agreeing with previous findings by first-tier Judge Burnett.
However, because the woman had been involved in Ipob political activities, she found that the woman would be at risk if she returned to Nigeria.
“The appellant has a well-founded fear of persecution on account of her imputed political opinion arising from her involvement with Ipob in the UK”, she said.”
In another example that emerged this week, an Albanian criminal avoided deportation because his son didn’t like foreign chicken nuggets.
Another tribunal decision allowed a Palestinian family to come and live in the UK after they applied through a scheme for Ukrainian refugees.
Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, said the Nigerian case was “patently absurd”.
“This shows judges are inventing new and comically ludicrous interpretations of vague European Convention on Human Rights’ (ECHR) articles in order to allow foreign criminals and illegal immigrants to stay in the country,” he said.
