THE EUROPEAN Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has written to Pamela Izevbekhai seeking her response to the Government’s claim that documents she submitted in support of her asylum application were forged.
In light of the revelation that counterfeit papers were used in a series of legal challenges taken by Ms Izevbekhai and her two daughters, the Government recently asked the ECHR to withdraw its request for a stay on their deportation to Nigeria.
A spokeswoman for the Strasbourg court told The Irish Timesit would wait for Ms Izevbekhai's response – which must be received by April 29th - before considering the Government's request. If that request is granted, the State could proceed with the family's deportation on the conclusion of their current Supreme Court challenge.
Ms Izevbekhai has fought a protracted legal battle to remain in Ireland on the grounds that her two daughters, Naomi (7) and Jemima (6), would be subjected to female genital mutilation (FGM) if they returned to Nigeria. She claims another daughter, Elizabeth, died from blood loss as a result of the procedure.
However, the Nigerian recently acknowledged that some papers supplied to the courts in support of her case, including one purporting to be her first daughter’s death certificate and an affidavit from a Lagos obstetrician who purportedly treated the child, were forged.
Ms Izevbekhai said her husband admitted to her that he had obtained fake documents after the doctor who had treated Elizabeth demanded a substantial payment in exchange for the genuine papers.
Although she stands over her claim, the admission of counterfeit documents led last week to an application by her solicitor, Gabriel Toolan, and her counsel to cease acting for her in a Supreme Court appeal against the High Court’s rejection of her case. Ms Izevbekhai is seeking new lawyers.
The State told the Supreme Court it had evidence which, if true, meant the Nigerian’s attempt to block deportation proceeded on “a lie that is so fundamental” that her case should be dismissed as an abuse of court process. It is understood the same point was made in a letter to the ECHR late last month.
When the High Court found last November there was no reason to grant an injunction stopping the deportation of Ms Izevbekhai and her daughters, the European Court intervened by requesting that the Government allow them to stay because it wanted to consider the woman’s arguments. The Government agreed to the request.
Separately, it has been reported that research funded by the Department of Foreign Affairs has confirmed that FGM is prevalent in some parts of Nigeria, apparently contradicting a claim by the Nigerian ambassador in Ireland that the practice is a “non-existent issue” in her country.
The Irish Catholicreported that a Nigerian human rights lawyer conducting research funded by the Government had found that FGM was "still very serious" in the state of Eboyni in southeast Nigeria, and that this had been outlined in interim findings presented at the Irish Embassy in Abuja recently.
A spokeswoman for the department said €50,000 had been invested in the project, which aimed to reduce FGM rates in Ebonyi and monitor its prevalence.