A Canadian Federal Court has granted a Nigerian engineer, Michael Moshood Ogunwola, relief to challenge the rejection of his asylum application after he claimed his life was threatened for refusing to join the Ogboni fraternity.
Court filings showed that Ogunwola, a 53-year-old electrical engineer formerly employed by a telecommunications firm in Nigeria, fled the country after repeated pressure from his father and members of the fraternity to fulfil a covenant requiring him, as the first son, to join the group.
According to the documents, Ogunwola said his ordeal intensified in 2013 while working on a contract for an Ogboni member in Aba, Abia State, during which he became aware that individuals were searching for him.
He told the court that after returning home to care for his ailing father, he declined involvement in traditional rites on religious grounds, delegating the task to his half-sister, who reportedly died days later, leading to renewed pressure from the fraternity.
Ogunwola claimed he was tracked and attacked twice within three months and that the threats forced him to sever contact with his partner and children for their safety.
He said he later relocated to the United States, but alleged harassment continued through persistent phone calls, prompting him to destroy his SIM card before eventually seeking refuge in Canada.
Canadian immigration authorities initially rejected his asylum claim, citing the possibility of internal relocation within Nigeria, a decision upheld by the Refugee Appeal Division in August 2023.
However, Justice Alan Favel of the Federal Court in Ottawa ruled that the appeal body erred by downplaying the reach and influence of the Ogboni fraternity, referencing official Nigerian documents describing the group as powerful, secretive and influential within political and security institutions.
The judge consequently set aside the earlier decision and ordered that Ogunwola’s asylum case be reconsidered by a different panel, ruling that his application for judicial review was allowed.
