Aderonke Apata, the lesbian gay rights activist who claimed asylum for fear of persecution in her native Nigeria, has lost her battle to remain in the UK in Britain’s highest court, the Royal Courts of Justice.
On Wednesday (April 8) Justice John Bowers QC dismissed her appeal on the grounds of her dishonesty, her criminality and that she is not actually a lesbian – an assertion he bases on the fact Ms Apata is a twice married mother of two.
The judge said that he would have to agree with the March 3 submissions of the State lawyer, Andrew Bird, who argued that the ruling and findings of the First Tier Tribunal (FTT) in 2012, are binding on the Royal Court of Justice, because the FTT is the one charged by Parliament with the jurisdiction to make fact findings and also equipped to do so by means of the facility to hear oral evidence and cross- examination. Bowers took sides with the submission despite Apata’s lawyer arguing to the contrary during the hearing on March 3.
In handing down Wednesday’s ruling, Judge Bowers made reference to Bird’s submission that: “The Secretary of State contends that the Claimant has, for 10 years, played the system by repeated and different applications, dishonesty made, and that [Apata] made false asylum claims. She has pursued an appeal claiming that she was in a subsisting relationship with an EEA national, when she was not. She overstayed, worked illegally and studied illegally”.
Even though Apata’s lawyer had submitted to the court that she faces the risk of persecution and imprisonment if returned to Nigeria because of last year’s Anti- LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transexuals) Law, the judge is of the view that she is not actually a lesbian, and as such, is not covered by the Refugee Convention Article 1A (2). Bowers cited Bird’s submission of the FTT ruling, which said, “we have concluded that the (Claimant’s) change of image is entirely due to a false claim of lesbian sexuality… … Despite claiming that she cannot bear to be in a relationship with a man, she has engaged in long-term relationships with Mr. Alima and Mr. Bamidele (both European nationals) and has declared her love and commitment to them openly in letters … ”
Apata’s case on the basis of having a mental illness that she won’t get adequate medical treatment in Nigeria if she is deported was also dismissed.
