RAD – NIGERIA – FORWARD LOOKING RISK X (Re), 2021 TC1-01964 (CA IRB) [unreported decision]

The appellant is a citizen of Nigeria. She was unable to conceive a child with her husband however she became pregnant through an affair with another man. The husband’s family members forced her to undergo customary cleansing rites and was given two options: 1) undergo traditional rites or escape Nigeria. She subsequently fled to Canada. A few months after she arrived in Canada, the appellant alleged that she received a decree in the mail from traditional authorities in Nigeria that demanded her to present herself for customary rites, flee or be killed.

The Refugee Protection Division (RPD) accepted her allegations as credible that she was fearful of her husband’s family members however the panel found that she did not face a forward-looking risk upon her return to Nigeria.

The Refugee Appeal Division (RAD) found that the RPD misapprehended the appellant’s evidence. Given that the RPD erred in concluding that the appellant does not have a forward-facing risk in Nigeria, the appeal was allowed and send back to the RPD to be redetermined.