Opinion ID: 624707
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Oyeniran is Denied Deferral under the CAT in 2009

Text: Upon his return to the United States, the Government initiated a second administrative proceeding to remove Oyeniran. [4] This time, Oyeniran was denied deferral under the CAT. Oyeniran and the expert witness both ratified their prior testimony. In contrast to the prior proceeding, the Archbishop testified in person and added his reasons for believing the violent incidents were committed by Sharia fundamentalists who wanted to harm his children. The Archbishop also testified that the church had hired security guards to protect him and his wife. He mentioned recent attempts to harm him. In addition, Oyeniran and the Archbishop described the security precautions taken for the month-long visit to the mother in the hospital in 2007. New corroborating documents were introduced. The IJ found that Oyeniran was not credible and held that Oyeniran had not met his burden of proof, describing the evidence as speculative. Oyeniran appealed. The BIA affirmed the denial of deferral, even though, ironically, it expressly found Oyeniran's testimony credible, reversing the IJ on that point. It held the 2005 grant of deferral had no dispositive effect and that the CAT claim was properly considered on a de novo basis. The BIA rejected Oyeniran's res judicata argument holding that the grant of deferral is expressly subject to reconsideration. The BIA held that the violence in 2003 and 2004 did not amount to torture and that those attacks had not been sufficiently linked to the Nigerian government.