LAWYERS ACTING for Pamela Izevbekhai are expected to seek to withdraw from the case on Friday, forcing the collapse of her Supreme Court challenge, after she admitted at the weekend that documents used in her legal battle against deportation were forged.
Ms Izevbekhai, who claims her two daughters would be subjected to female genital mutilation (FGM) if they returned to Nigeria, must present proof to her legal team that she had a baby daughter, Elizabeth, who, as Ms Izevbekhai has stated in a series of legal challenges, died from blood loss as a result of the procedure.
Legal sources said last night that if she failed to come up with compelling evidence in the coming days, it was likely that her lawyers would apply to come off record in the Supreme Court on Friday.
There was speculation last night that this would effectively mean the end of her challenge in the European Court of Human Rights, increasing the likelihood that authorities here will move swiftly to deport the Izevbekhai family.
The Sligo-based Nigerian woman acknowledged yesterday that documents used in her legal challenge were bogus. She said her husband had admitted to her on Friday that he had obtained fake documents after the doctor who had treated Elizabeth demanded a substantial payment in exchange for the genuine papers.
Ms Izevbekhai was responding to media reports quoting a Nigerian obstetrician and gynaecologist denying earlier claims that he had delivered Elizabeth or had treated her again when she died. The Sunday Times reported that the doctor refused to answer detailed questions unless he was paid €5,000.
Ms Izevbekhai insisted on RTÉ radio yesterday that she had not lied. “The existence of Elizabeth is real. She lived and she died,” Ms Izevbekhai said. “I am in this country for the reason that I claim and that is the truth . . . I did not lie. Whatever I have to do to protect my children I will do . . . I have already lost one child. I will not lose more. If I did not have a fear of FGM, I would not be here,” she continued, adding that she believed the Nigerian authorities could not guarantee her safety.
In a statement, the Irish Refugee Council, which had supported Ms Izevbekhai’s campaign, said the facts in the case that Elizabeth died as a result of severe bleeding due to FGM were never disputed by the State during the legal process to date.
“The argument centred on whether Pamela’s daughters would be safe if returned to Nigeria,” it said. “All of us who campaigned around this issue believed that they would not be safe due to the compelling evidence on the practice of FGM in Nigeria.”
A Sligo-based group which had campaigned on behalf of Ms Izevbekhai continued to stand by her last night. “I would urge people to remember that this is not about paperwork – it is still about the safety of two little girls,” said a spokesperson for the Let Them Stay organisation.