“Mr Eriator, as a member of the police force, was complicit in those crimes because he could not have been unaware,” the Canadian judge said.
A Canadian Federal Court has denied permanent residency to Iyanbe Eriator, a former Nigerian police corporal, citing his association with a force accused of systemic crimes.
Justice Yvan Roy ruled in Ottawa that the Nigeria Police Force has a documented pattern of rape, torture, murder, and other abuses violating the Rome Statute.
“Mr Eriator, as a member of the police force, was complicit in those crimes because he could not have been unaware of the repeated and systematic acts of violence and torture,” the judge said.
Eriator, who entered Canada illegally from the U.S. in 2017, denied any personal involvement in crimes. He served in SARS and election checkpoints before leaving the force in 2016.
His case joins a growing list of ex-Nigerian police officers barred from Canada over similar allegations.
Past cases include SARS operative Olushola Popoola and MOPOL officer Charles Ukoniwe, both denied asylum for their ties to units accused of brutality.