- Actors of Protection
- State and non-state bodies capable of providing effective protection against persecution, including police, courts, government agencies, and NGOs. Learn more →
- AIR (Asylum Interview Record)
- The record of the asylum interview conducted by the Home Office, documenting the claimant's account and the interviewing officer's questions.
- Boko Haram/ISWAP
- Islamist militant groups operating in North-East Nigeria. ISWAP is the Islamic State West Africa Province splinter faction. Learn more →
- CPIN (Country Policy Information Note)
- Home Office country guidance documents setting out the UK government's position on country conditions for asylum decision-making. Learn more →
- Country Guidance Case
- An Upper Tribunal decision designated as providing authoritative guidance on how claims from a particular country should be assessed.
- COI (Country of Origin Information)
- Factual information about conditions in a country of origin, used in asylum decision-making and expert reports.
- FGM (Female Genital Mutilation)
- Partial or total removal of external female genitalia for non-medical reasons. Nigeria has among the highest absolute numbers of FGM cases globally. Learn more →
- HJ (Iran) [2010]
- Leading UK Supreme Court case establishing that asylum claims based on sexuality must be assessed without requiring the claimant to conceal their identity. Learn more →
- Home Office Refusal Letter (RFRL)
- The letter notifying an asylum claimant of the Home Office decision to refuse their claim, setting out reasons for refusal.
- Humanitarian Protection
- Leave to remain granted where a person does not qualify as a refugee but faces a real risk of serious harm on return.
- Immigration Tribunal Practice Direction
- Rules governing procedure and evidence in the Immigration and Asylum Chamber, including paragraph 10 on expert evidence duties. Learn more →
- Internal Relocation Alternative
- The principle that a claimant may be required to relocate within their country of origin if it is safe and reasonable to do so. Learn more →
- IPOB (Indigenous People of Biafra)
- Biafran separatist movement proscribed as a terrorist organisation in Nigeria since September 2017. Learn more →
- Juju Rituals
- Traditional spiritual practices used by Nigerian trafficking networks to bind victims through fear of supernatural consequences. Learn more →
- Legal Aid (Immigration)
- Public funding for immigration and asylum cases through the Legal Aid Agency, requiring prior authority for expert reports. Learn more →
- MASSOB
- Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra, a separatist group distinct from IPOB in South-East Nigeria.
- NRM (National Referral Mechanism)
- The UK's framework for identifying and supporting victims of modern slavery and human trafficking. Learn more →
- Non-State Actor Persecution
- Harm perpetrated by entities other than the state, such as family, community groups, or criminal networks, where state protection is unavailable.
- Refugee Convention 1951
- The international treaty defining refugee status and the grounds on which persecution must be based for asylum eligibility.
- SSMPA (Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act 2013)
- Nigerian law criminalising same-sex relationships with up to 14 years imprisonment, with death penalty under Sharia in northern states. Learn more →
- State Protection
- The availability and effectiveness of protection provided by the state against persecution or serious harm. Learn more →
- Subsidiary Protection (Article 15c)
- Protection for persons facing a real risk of serious harm due to indiscriminate violence in situations of international or internal armed conflict. Learn more →
- Trafficking
- The recruitment, transportation, or harbouring of persons for exploitation, including sexual exploitation and forced labour. Learn more →
- UNHCR Guidelines
- Guidance published by the UN Refugee Agency on the interpretation and application of refugee law standards.
- Upper Tribunal (IAC)
- The Upper Tribunal Immigration and Asylum Chamber, which hears appeals from the First-tier Tribunal and decides country guidance cases. Learn more →
- VAPP Act 2015
- Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act 2015, which prohibits FGM and other forms of gender-based violence in Nigeria. Learn more →
- Well-Founded Fear
- The standard for refugee status: a reasonable degree of likelihood that the claimant would face persecution if returned.
- EUAA (European Union Agency for Asylum)
- EU agency publishing country guidance used alongside Home Office CPINs in UK asylum analysis. EUAA Country Guidance Nigeria 2026 published March 2026. Learn more →
- Separatist Groups (South-East Nigeria)
- Home Office CPIN topic covering IPOB, MASSOB, and other separatist movements in Nigeria's South-East. Updated April 2026. Learn more →