A retired Nigerian police officer’s appeal to review his asylum refusal was denied by Madam Justice Ngo of a federal court in Ontario, Canada, on the ground that the Nigeria Police Force is notorious for extortion, bribery, and other vices that vitiate the ex-officer’s case.

Following two asylum rejections, the first by the Refugee Protection Division (RPD) and the other by the Refugee Appeal Division (RAD), Martins Peter Nwokolo sought the court’s assistance to review the unfavourable decisions of the immigration agencies, citing unreasonableness and breach of procedural fairness.

But Ms Go, in October 2024, dismissed Mr Nwokolo’s grievances as ill-conceived, stressing that the RPD and RAD were right to deny him asylum given a section of the Canadian law forbids the issuance of refugee status to persons who have committed “serious non-political crimes” before coming to Canada.

The justice said that Mr Nwokolo, who retired as a traffic warden under the Nigerian police, fell into this category of non-political criminals because the Nigerian security outfit was infamous for “extortion and bribery.” 

“On April 11, 2022, the RPD found serious reasons to consider that the Applicant committed, under Article 1F(b) of the Convention, serious non-political crimes prior to entering Canada, namely extortion and bribery,” Ms Go said in her ruling on October 23, 2024.

Ms Go determined that officers of the force contribute significantly to Nigeria’s corruption.  

“The RPD found that the police force as well as the traffic wardens are highly corrupt and that members of these forces are expected to contribute to this system of returns,” the justice stated.

Mr Nwokolo refuted the accusations, saying he neither collected bribes nor extorted citizens during his years in active service. However, Ms Go said the RPD had strong reasons to believe otherwise.

“Even though the applicant alleges that he has never taken any bribes or extorted people as a traffic warden, the RPD found that there were serious reasons to consider that the applicant participated in those activities,” Ms Go said.

Mr Nwokolo, a pastor at the Chapel of Power Ministries since 2005, told the RPD that he was offered the position of chief priest in Nigeria. He rejected the position, a move that he claimed triggered his persecution in 2018.

He first relocated to another part of Nigeria and eventually japa to the U.S. in 2018. It was from America that he moved to Canada to file for asylum.

Due to the tarnished image of Nigeria’s police abroad, several asylum applications by former security operatives have fallen through.