1909280 (Refugee)

This matter concerned an application for a protection visa by the applicant and their spouse, who claimed they would face harm if returned to Nigeria. The applicant alleged that her stepbrother, who was gay, was killed by the State Security Service (SSS) after she had attempted to protect him from a mob. She further claimed that she was subsequently targeted by the SSS, threatened, and extorted before fleeing Nigeria. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) was required to determine whether Australia owed protection obligations to the applicants.

The central legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicants met the criteria for a protection visa, specifically whether they were persons to whom Australia owed protection obligations under the Migration Act 1958 (Cth). This involved assessing the applicant's claims of past persecution and the real risk of significant harm if returned to Nigeria, considering both refugee and complementary protection criteria. The Tribunal also had to consider the credibility of the applicant's claims, including any delays in seeking protection and the impact of her medical conditions.

The Tribunal considered the applicant's narrative, which detailed her stepbrother's homosexuality, the family's initial disapproval, her eventual support for him, and the subsequent violent events leading to his death at the hands of the SSS. The applicant also recounted her own experiences of being threatened, arrested, and extorted by SSS officials and others before her departure from Nigeria. The Tribunal applied Ministerial Direction No. 84, the Refugee Law Guidelines, and Complementary Protection Guidelines. Despite the detailed account of persecution and fear, the Tribunal concluded that the decision under review should be affirmed, meaning the protection visa application was not successful.