The applicant is a Nigerian national, who stated that she was adopted and always experienced violence at the hands of her adoptive mother and sexual violence at the hands of her mother’s husband, as well as discrimination from her classmates. She escaped to Warri when her mother tried to sell her to an older man, where she met a woman who offered her a job in Italy. She was kidnapped in Libya during her trip to Italy, and she was a victim of repeated sexual violence and was forced into prostitution. She arrived in Italy in June 2017 and requested international protection.

During the interview, the Commission held that some statements were contradictory and arranged a further hearing, in which the applicant stated she was a victim of trafficking in human beings. This fact had not emerged during the discussions with the anti-trafficking agency following the referral procedure. The Tribunal re-assessed the facts and held that the statements made with regards to the facts in Warri that brought the applicant to Italy are consistent with trafficking in human beings. Additionally, the Tribunal noted that the lack of collaboration of the applicant during the interviews is particularly significant, as well as the lack of family networks and the condition of women and victims of trafficking in Nigeria. Reference was made to the EASO COI Report “Nigeria: Trafficking in Human Beings” published in April 2021. The Tribunal ruled to grant refugee status to the applicant.