A Federal Court in Ottawa has denied permanent residency to Iyanbe Eriator, a former officer of Nigeria’s disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), citing his association with the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), which the court deemed complicit in crimes against humanity.
Eriator, who illegally entered Canada via the U.S. in October 2017, sought judicial review after Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) rejected his residency application. However, Justice Yvan Roy ruled that Eriator was inadmissible due to his previous service in the Nigerian police, an institution the judge accused of systemic abuses.
According to Peoples Gazette, Justice Roy noted that the NPF had long maintained practices involving rape, torture, enforced disappearances, and extrajudicial killings, all of which violate the Rome Statute. The judge emphasized that Eriator’s continued service in the force made him complicit, stating, “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.”
Eriator denied involvement in any wrongdoing, asserting that he was simply a police officer who joined the force voluntarily in June 2009 and rose to the rank of corporal. He said his duties included serving at election checkpoints—such as during the 2015 presidential election—and working briefly with SARS in Ikeja before resigning in 2016.
SARS, a unit within the NPF, was widely condemned for its human rights abuses, including torture, extortion, and extrajudicial killings. Following nationwide protests, the unit was officially disbanded on October 11, 2020, by then-Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu.
Eriator’s rejection is not an isolated case. Other former Nigerian police officers have similarly been denied asylum or residency in Canada due to their affiliation with the force. In 2021, Judge Sébastien Grammond dismissed the asylum claim of Olushola Popoola, a former SARS officer. Similarly, Charles Ukoniwe’s request for review was denied by Judge Patrick Gleeson, citing his ties to the Mobile Police (MOPOL) unit.
Judge Gleeson ruled that any individual who voluntarily joined the Nigerian police is considered complicit by association under Canadian law and the United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, regardless of direct involvement in specific crimes.
