1817077 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considered the case of an applicant seeking a protection visa. The applicant, a Muslim of Yoruba ethnicity from Nigeria, claimed to have been assaulted, threatened, and had property damaged due to a refusal to succeed the deceased chief priest in his community. He asserted a fear of killing and argued that neither internal relocation nor state protection would be effective in Nigeria.

The central legal issues before the Tribunal were the applicant's credibility and whether, based on his accepted claims, he met the criteria for a protection visa under the Migration Act 1958 (Cth). Specifically, the Tribunal had to determine if the applicant possessed a well-founded fear of persecution as a refugee, or if he faced a real risk of significant harm as a consequence of being removed to Nigeria, thereby engaging Australia's protection obligations under section 36(2)(aa) of the Act.

The Tribunal applied the principles outlined in Ministerial Direction No. 84, considering relevant Refugee Law Guidelines, Complementary Protection Guidelines, and country information reports from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. The Tribunal found that the applicant's claims lacked credibility, leading to the conclusion that he did not satisfy the criteria for a protection visa. The Tribunal noted that the applicant did not satisfy section 36(2) of the Act, nor did he satisfy the complementary protection criterion under section 36(2)(aa).

Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the applicant a protection visa.