A petition calling on the Minister for Justice, Mr McDowell, to overturn the deportation of a Nigerian woman who says she faces the death penalty for having children outside marriage was handed in to his party headquarters yesterday.
The petition, which has more than 1,000 signatures according to the Residents Against Racism group, is in support of Ms Nimota (Kate) Banidele (39). She has been told to report to the Garda National Immigration Bureau tomorrow for deportation.
From Zamfara state in northern Nigeria, she says she was sentenced to be stoned to death two years ago for having her three children outside marriage.
She will be killed if she returns, she says. Having failed in her asylum application, her application for humanitarian leave to remain has also failed.
Ms Banidele says she had her three children before the strict Islamic code known as Sharia law had been adopted.
She had split up from her partner and her young family and was living with her father "when they started killing people who had children out of wedlock".
She would like to return to Nigeria and be reunited with her children, but as long as Sharia law is in force in northern Nigeria she fears she will be stoned.
About 30 people, including representatives of the National Women's Council, the Union of Students in Ireland, Sinn Féin, the ATGWU and Residents Against Racism, took part in the protest outside the Progressive Democrats' office yesterday.
Mr Mick O'Reilly of the ATGWU said the consequences that would flow from Ms Banidele's deportation would be "horrendous".
