Nigerian girl wins legal battle on refugee status

A girl with “significant” special needs born in Ireland after her Nigerian mother claimed she fled here due to fears her unborn child might suffer female genital mutilation or human sacrifice has overturned the rejection of her refugee status.

The 10-year-old girl’s application must be reconsidered by a different member of the Refugee Appeals Tribunal (RAT) in light of the court’s findings, Ms Justice Mary Faherty directed.

The RAT’s finding that the mother’s claim about female genital mutilation (FGM) ran “counter to generally known facts” did not meet the legal test of rationality or cogency set out in a 2011 High Court decision concerning FGM which was, “regrettably, a fact of life” for 19% of females in Nigeria, the High Court judge held.