A Nigerian mother of two children, an Irish-born infant son and a non-Irish-born daughter, has brought a High Court challenge to orders for the deportation of herself and her four-year-old daughter. The mother and son are presently detained in Mountjoy Prison, while her daughter is staying with a friend.
The right of residency has been refused to mother and daughter.
This is the first challenge since the Supreme Court ruled in the "L" and "O" cases last month that non-nationals are not entitled to remain here by virtue of having an Irish-born child.
Ms Bola Funmi Ojo and her six-week-old son, Daniel, have been detained in the "Dochas Centre" at Mountjoy Prison since January 27th last. Ms Ojo told Ms Justice Finlay Geoghegan that she had had to leave her four-year-old daughter, Toke Ojo, in the care of a friend in Waterford city.
Ms Ojo is challenging a decision of the Minister refusing her and her daughter the right to reside in Ireland. She is applying for a declaration that her arrest and the detention of her baby were unlawful and for an order requiring the Minister to grant residency to herself and her daughter.
On February 5th, Ms Ojo also issued proceedings under Article 40 of the Constitution challenging the legality of her detention.
In the statement grounding her judicial review proceedings, she claims that the Minister was biased when making his decison to deport her and that he had a direct self-interest in the decision. She claims that the speed and manner in which the decision was made was such that it could not have received due consideration.
The deportation order against Ms Ojo was issued in August 2001. Her application to remain in Ireland was was made last January, following the birth of her son in December.
Ms Ojo said in an affidavit that she went to Waterford Garda station on January 27th. She had told gardaí that she had an Irish-born child, but she was arrested after gardaí were informed of the deporation order. She told those arresting her that her four-year-old daughter depended on her, but the child had to remain at a friend's house while she and her baby son were brought to Mountjoy.
On February 6th, she was being brought to the Four Courts to challenge her detention when a Department of Justice official gave her a letter in the handwriting of the Minister on unheaded notepaper outlining his reasons for refusing the applications of herself and her daughter to remain in Ireland.
She feared going back to Nigeria, as her husband might be dead. In addition to her son and daughter, she had two step-children. She had had to flee Nigeria for Ireland in 2000 because her life and that of her husband's family were in very serious danger. They could only raise enough money for one of them to seek refuge abroad.
She applied for refugee status and the Refugee Applications Commissioner found that she "gave a very credible account" and that her fears were well-founded. However, the commissioner held that her claim did not fall within the Geneva Convention definition of a refugee and she was refused refugee status.
She had resided in a hostel in Mosney, Co Meath, in 2001, where she had a miscarraige and became deeply upset and depressed. That was her fifth miscarriage. In February 2002, her husband had travelled to Ireland and told her that it was not safe to return to Nigeria. He said that he would return because of their two step-children. She had not seen him since.
Ms Ojo said that she left Mosney and went to live with a friend at William Street, Waterford. She now realised that she was in breach of her obligations to inform the immigration authorities of a change of address. Sometime after her husband had stayed with her, she realised that she was pregnant, and she gave birth to Daniel on December 15th, 2002.
Mr Paul O'Higgins SC, for the authorities, said that they had no record of Ms Ojo's claim that her husband visited and left Ireland in February 2002
The hearing resumes on Friday.