Bj (nigeria) For Judicial Review)
| Jurisdiction | Scotland |
| Judge | Lady Wolffe |
| Neutral Citation | [2018] CSOH 62 |
| Date | 12 June 2018 |
| Docket Number | P1088/17 |
| Court | Court of Session |
| Published date | 12 June 2018 |
OUTER HOUSE, COURT OF SESSION
[2018] CSOH 62
P1088/17
OPINION OF LADY WOLFFE
In the cause
BJ (Nigeria)
Petitioner
for
Judicial Review
Respondent
Petitioner: Haddow; Drummond Miller LLP
Respondent: MacIver; Office of the Advocate General
12 June 2018
Background
[1] In this judicial review, the petitioner challenges the decision of the Secretary of State
for the Home Department (“the Secretary of State”) dated 31 July 2017 (“the Decision”)
refusing to accept the petitioner’s further submissions on 11 July 2017 as a fresh claim for the
purposes of rule 353 of the Immigration Rules.
2
Asylum claim and FTT determination
[2] The Applicant is a national of Nigeria and is a convert from Islam to Christianity.
The Petitioner claims to have entered the UK in December 2006. She came to the attention of
the authorities in the UK in January 2014.
[3] The Petitioner claimed asylum at that time, based on her fear of persecution at the
hands of her family and on account of her religion. Her claim for asylum was refused by the
Secretary of State on 15 January 2015. The Petitioner appealed to the First-tier Tribunal
(“FTT”).
[4] At her FTT hearing, the Petitioner also claimed that her poor mental health,
including a risk of self-harm or suicide, meant that return to Nigeria would be a breach of
the Petitioner’s convention rights under Articles 3 and 8 of the ECHR. The petitioner
produced a medical report and a GP report, which noted the Petitioner’s deteriorating
mental health and risk of self-harm.
[5] The FTT did not believe the Petitioner’s account of the risk she faced on account of
her family’s hostility or her conversion to Christianity. It held that, in any event, internal
relocation would be feasible.
[6] The FTT concluded that the petitioner’s mental health difficulties were “significantly
exaggerated”, not least because it appeared to it that the Petitioner evidently coped without
recourse to mental health services in the 7 years she was living illegally in the UK. It held
there was no risk of suicide if returned to Nigeria. The FTT also held that there were
sufficient facilities and medication available in Nigeria that the high threshold for Article 3
medical cases was not met.
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