Nigerian man loses High Court appeal on persecution grounds

A Nigerian man who claimed he was persecuted by Islamist extremists in his home country because he is a homosexual has lost an action in the High Court against a decision of the Refugee Appeals Tribunal denying him asylum.

The man, who cannot be identified, had claimed that his partner and his mother were killed in two separate homophobic attacks. The High Court heard the tribunal had found the man not to be credible.

He claimed he had been having sex with his partner when he started hearing Islamic chanting outside his bedroom window.

The man, who is in his 30s, claimed that an angry mob began throwing stones at his window before setting his house on fire, but he had escaped through a back window. His partner later died in the fire, he said.

In a reserved judgment, Ms Justice Carmel Stewart said no evidence of his partner's or mother's deaths had been provided.

The judge said the applicant had submitted a letter from a group which helps members of the LGBT community in Ireland but this was not sufficient evidence to establish he was a homosexual.

Refusing the application, the judge said she was satisfied the tribunal acted lawfully in giving its decision.