A Canadian federal court has granted a Nigerian engineer Michael Moshood Ogunwola’s request to appeal his asylum denial over claims that the Ogboni fraternity was after his life for declining to fulfill his father’s covenant to join the sect, stated court filings obtained by Peoples Gazette. 

Mr Ogunwola, 53, worked as a trained electrical engineer at a Nigeria telecommunications company before moving to Canada. He claimed he fled for his life following repeated invitations from his father to join the Ogboni fraternity.

He stated that he was contracted in 2013 by an Igbo businessman from Aba and Ogboni member, Mr Ifany. While working on site, Mr Ogunwola said that he overheard conversations that people were searching for him.

Mr Ogunwola stated that he completed the job as soon as he could and returned home to find his ailing father who sought traditional healers for treatment. As a Christian, Mr Ogunwola said he didn’t approve of the local treatment methods and declined to run other traditional-related errands. He noted that he asked his half-sister to help.

Mr Ogunwola said his half-sister died within days of performing the traditional rites, adding that the Ogboni fraternity intensified pressure on his father for him to join them as his first son.

“The Ogboni Society challenged the Applicant’s father to fulfill his membership covenant to bring his first-born son into the cult,” stated court filings.

The Nigerian engineer said the Ogboni members tracked and attacked him twice within three months. He said the situation caused his baby mama to cut off communications with him for the children’s safety.

He claimed his relocation to the U.S. did not stop the Ogboni members, as they constantly harassed him with phone calls to the point he was forced to break his SIM card.

He noted that he married in the U.S. in 2015 but the marriage crashed before his wife could complete his sponsorship. He added that the development made him seek refuge in Canada.

But the Refugee Protection Division rejected his asylum application on the basis of a viable Internal Flight Alternative (IFA), a concept that allowed him to relocate to another part of Nigeria such as Abuja where he would not be in danger. The RPG said there was no evidence to show that Mr Ogunwola would still be in danger if he relocated to another state in Nigeria in 2023.

Mr Ogunwola challenged his denial but the Refugee Appeal Division (RAD) dismissed his appeal in  August 2023.

“The RAD determined the Ogboni Society lacked the means, resources, and influence to locate the Applicant in Abuja,” filings showed.

Mr Justice Favel of the Federal court in Ottawa, Ontario, backed Mr Ogunwola that the RAD erred in its decision to underestimate the influence of Ogboni fraternity, citing the Nigeria’s National Document Package (NDP) which said the cult members were old and highly influential people. 

The document also said little was known about the activities of Ogboni fraternity because members, comprising powerful individuals in politics, judiciary, government, and so on, were “sworn to secrecy.”

Mr Favel said the NDP stated that the Nigerian police officers approached cases relating to the Ogboni fraternity with extreme caution.

The Canadian judge said RAD erred in its decision that Mr Ogunwola should relocate to other parts of Nigeria for safety because it underestimated the confraternity’s reach and resources to track him down.

The judge rebuked the RAD for neglecting to consider whether such a powerful fraternity had secret branches in the locations deemed viable living options for Mr Ogunwola. He said that the RAD was focused on the perceived declining influence of the Ogboni fraternity and ignored “objective evidence pointing to the contrary.”

Consequently, the judge approved Mr Ogunwola’s appeal for a review of his asylum denial. Mr Favel ordered that the case be redetermined by a different panel.

“The application for judicial review is allowed and the matter is remitted to a differently constituted panel of the RAD for redetermination,” Mr Favel said in a ruling on April 2, 2025.