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2019 RLLR 27

Citation: 2019 RLLR 27
Tribunal: Refugee Protection Division
Date of Decision: October 17, 2019
Panel: Dian Forsey
Counsel for the Claimant(s): Roger Rowe
Country: Nigeria
RPD Number: TB9-02164
Associated RPD Number(s): TB9-02208, TB9-02229, TB9-02230, TB9-02231, TB9-12232
ATIP Number: A-2021-01124
ATIP Pages: 000162-000164


DECISION

[1]       MEMBER: This is a decision for the claimant in file number TB9-02164. The male claimant was appointed the designated representative for the four minor children. I have also considered the Guidelines 3 and 4 with respect to look at-, looking at the evidence today. One deals with women and the other one deals with child-, with children that are before me. I’m sure Counsel’s familiar with those Guidelines.

[2]       I have considered your testimony and the other evidence in this case and I am ready to render my decision.

[3]       You are claiming to be citizens of Nigeria and are claiming refugee protection pursuant to Sections 96 and 97(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA). I find that you are a-, that you are Convention refugees and persons in need of protection for the following reasons.

[4]       You alleged the following, that you are citizens of Nigeria and of no other country. The documentation on file provided by your Counsel, which were in the form of your passports, your US visas, your educational documentation, the documentation with respect to your role within your church as a Pastor and Deacon for the female claimant, clearly, and the birth certificates also of your children, provide a basis for me to-, to declare that you are indeed citizens of Nigeria based on your testimony and supporting documentation filed in the Exhibits.

[5]       Therefore, on a balance of probabilities that your identity and country of reference have been established. In terms of your general er-, credibility, I’ve found that you are ere-, were credible witness and therefore I accept what you have alleged in your oral testimony and in your Basis of Claim form. In support of your claim, you provided document-, documents confirming your role as a Pastor and your wife’s role as a Deacon within the Christian Church.

[6]       You in fact performed your duties for more than seven years in that church in Nigeria. You continue today to be a parishioner of churches within Canada, which confirms to me that you are following your Christian faith. Your testimony was straightforward and in keeping with your Basis of Claim form and there were no significant inconsistency or admissions in your evidence today. Your evidence was clear, there were times when you had an opportunity to exaggerate your claim, but you did not do so. So, I find therefore that you are credible with respect to the fear that you have in returning to Nigeria.

[7]       I find there is a link between your fear, there’s no–, no link between your fear and one of the five Convention grounds, therefore I’m going to assess the claim under Section 97, and that is the fear upon your return to Nigeria given your profile. The objective evidence supports your allegations that individuals in your circumstances face being persecuted by persons that you have named as Kingsman and their-, and their group and organization, this is also supported by the documentary evidence quoted by the Counsel. It speaks of the difficulty of leaving such cults once you are born into it. In this particular case, however, it appears to be particularly offensive to them, because you have become a Christian and in fact a Pastor within the Christian Church. And that was clear from the evidence in your BOC and in your oral evidence today.

[8]       You have also provided me two police report and the originals of those police reports. The law and principle are clear that they do provide protection in some matters in Nigeria, but in your particular case, the practice is not always available to claimants who are bringing forth complaints about cults or the cult activity towards them. The police also appear as Counsel has alleged in his submissions under Chap. 2, page 12, and that the police appear to be discriminatory toward women with respect to traditional rituals. The claimant has spoken of those traditional rituals when speaking to me about the rituals that were performed, that would be performed on his family should he return to Nigeria.

[9]       The claimants also-, claimant has also-, principal claimant has also testified that he is strong within his Christian faith and does not believe in these traditional rituals that occur within his family-, the main group of his family. He has also indicated to me that he swore to his father that he would not take on the chieftainship of-, of this family group. He also would not take it on because of-, he would lose his marriage to his wife who is a strong Christian person. He’s also fearful for his children should he take on any such position. And indeed, his own beliefs would prevent him from taking on such a role.

[10]     Therefore, I find that you face a risk of serious harm, as set out in Section 97, should you return to Nigeria today. I find that adequate state protection would not be available to you were you to seek it in Nigeria. The objective evidence that I’ve stated already indicates that would not be possible for you, and more likely than not, they would continue to inform you that you should settle matters within your family and within that group.

[11]     You have testified that you made attempts to seek state protection, as we-, as I’ve just spoken about, and that the State was not forthcoming to you, and in fact advised you that you should settle it among yourselves. In light of the objective con-, country documentation which counsel has referred to and is in the documents from the Board, I find that the claimant has rebutted the presumption of state protection based on your personal circumstances as well as the do-, objective documentary evidence. I find that adequate state protection would not be available to you should you return to Nigeria.

[12]     I’ve also considered whether a viable internal flight alternative exists for you and identified Abuja and Port Harcourt as the possible IFA locations. I’ve also that the failure to claim in the US is reasonable under their circumstances that you found yourself in that particular time and place. The Panel finds that th-, your efforts also to seek state protection is reasonable in the circum-, that your efforts to seek state protection is reasonable under the circumstances that you found yourself in, in that particular time and place in Nigeria, and I have two report-, police reports that both indicate they had referred you back to the group to be able to negotiate some sort of arrangement with them. Which seems highly unlikely given the documentation about these cults.

[13]     The-, in this particular case, I just want to point out that the claimant’s profile is heightened by his work within his Christian Church as a Pastor. He would be well known and would make it even easier to find in Nigeria, should he be seriously sought by these groups of people, and there’s no doubt from the evidence that he would be continued to be sought by this group, should he return to Nigeria.

[14]     The country documentation indicates that the situation for individuals, in circumstances such as yours, would be the same throughout the country because of your profile as a Christian Pastor in the church. So, having considered your personal circumstances, I found it unreasonable for you to relocate in either of the IFA locations. I therefore find it would not be reasonable in the circumstances that you have indicated to reside in any of the IFAs. As such, I find there is no viable flight-, internal flight alternative for you and or your family in Nigeria today.

[15]     Therefore, based on the totality of the evidence, I find you to be a person-, to be a person in need of protection, your claim is therefore accepted.

———- REASONS CONCLUDED ———-