Nigerian Woman Loses Battle Over Deportation

A Nigerian woman who said she feared her daughters would be subjected to the torture of female genital mutilation in her native country, has lost her bid to stop their deportation.

Pamela Izevbekhai was arrested two years ago in Sligo after spending five weeks in hiding, following the issuing of a deportation against her and the girls.

The court had heard that Pamela Izevbekhai left Nigeria in January 2005 because she was in fear for her life and for the lives of her young daughters who are five and seven.

She said that her husband’s family had actively practised the ritual circumcision of female children, known as female genital mutilation.

She said she had already lost a 17 month old daughter to this in 1994.

Her lawyers argued that the Minister for Justice was in breach of his obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights and the UN convention against torture act claiming that he’d failed weigh up fairly all the relevant material in front of him.

Mr Justice Feeney however today ruled that she’d failed to establish a basis to challenge the order against them.

It has been indicated that she may take her case to the Supreme Court.

Source: Independent.ie – 30 January 2008