Canada Rejects Asylum Bid of Nigerian Businesswoman Over Loan Shark Threats

A Canadian federal court has dismissed the asylum application of a Nigerian businesswoman who claimed her life would be in danger if she returned home due to threats from illegal money lenders over an unpaid loan interest.

The applicant, Deborah Abosede Ogungbemi, had sought refugee protection in Canada after earlier rejections by both the Refugee Protection Division and the Refugee Appeal Division. She told the court that she borrowed money from informal lenders in Nigeria to fund her education in Canada and support her parents’ business, agreeing to a 40 per cent interest rate.

According to her account, she repaid the principal amount but could not meet the interest demands. She alleged that the lenders, whom she described as influential and politically connected, repeatedly harassed her family and issued death threats. She further claimed that the pressure forced her parents to relocate to another state and that they later died as a result of sustained intimidation.

In her appeal, Ms Ogungbemi submitted additional documents, including death certificates, letters from acquaintances, newspaper reports describing the alleged circumstances of her parents’ deaths, and a psychological assessment. While the appeal body accepted the medical report, it rejected the other materials, citing inconsistencies and credibility concerns.

The appeal panel noted that the death certificates did not conform to Nigeria’s official documentation standards. It also raised doubts about the newspaper articles, pointing out that reports from different outlets were published on the same day with identical content despite having different authors and headlines.

The tribunal further held that Ms Ogungbemi had a viable internal relocation option within Nigeria, meaning she could live safely in another part of the country. On that basis, it upheld the earlier decision denying her refugee status.

Ms Ogungbemi challenged the ruling in court, arguing that it was unreasonable to fault her for how Nigerian media outlets reported the events and unfair to dismiss her evidence without an oral hearing. However, Justice Palotta of the Federal Court in Ontario disagreed.

In a ruling delivered in August 2025, the judge affirmed that the appeal body acted within the law, describing its concerns over the documents as justified. The court concluded that the decision to deny asylum was neither unreasonable nor procedurally unfair, effectively bringing Ms Ogungbemi’s legal challenge to an end.