DIASPORA: UK COURT SPARES NIGERIAN MAN FROM DEPORTATION AFTER CLAIMS OF BEING ‘DEMONICALLY POSSESSED’
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A Nigerian man convicted of armed robbery and drug dealing has avoided deportation from the UK after a judge ruled he would be considered “possessed” in his home country, potentially placing him at risk.
The offender, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was sentenced to seven years in prison in 2011 for an armed robbery at a brothel.
Seven years later, he was jailed again for supplying crack cocaine.
Despite a deportation order issued in April 2014, he appealed on human rights grounds and remains in the UK a decade later.
His continued stay has been justified by concerns that his belief in possession, combined with inadequate mental health care in Nigeria, could endanger his well-being.
Having spent significant time in a secure mental health hospital, the man now lives in the community but is still considered a “high risk of serious harm” to the public, according to experts.
He is also reported to be addicted to crack cocaine.
Judge Stephen Smith ruled that a previous judge had made an “error of law” in assessing the case.
“We note the appellant’s recurring belief that his mental ill-health is a result of being possessed,” Smith stated as quoted by The Telegraph.
“We assess that him expressing this belief would increase the likelihood that others will see his illness as being a manifestation of possession.”
A report by Amnesty International presented during the appeal supported the argument that returning him to Nigeria could expose him to harmful societal attitudes.
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