X, a national of Nigeria, applied for international protection and claimed to be bisexual or homosexual (both terms have been used by his lawyers and he claimed the same during the interview). His application was rejected for lack of credibility as the Minister did not accept his claims with regard to sexual orientation. A deportation order was issued against him.

The applicant appealed and the High Court rejected the relief sought and found that the overall proceedings were fair, open and transparent and the applicant had the opportunity to raise and present all arguments.

The applicant complained that a deportation order was issued without him being informed of the reasons for the deportation and the respect of the non-refoulement principle. The High Court notes that the applicant was provided with an explanatory notice of the deportation order on 2 October 2019. On the alleged breach of non-refoulement, the High Court stated that although the Minister acknowledged that a return of a LGBTI+ applicant would expose him or her to risk in Nigeria, however in the applicant’s case the assessment of non-refoulement was properly done and the Minister has never accepted that the applicant belongs to a particular social group as he was not recognised as homosexual. Moreover, it was noted that the applicant was rejected international protection, after careful examination of individual circumstances and country of origin information.