If a man by the terrour of present death, be compelled to doe a fact against the Law, he is totally Excused; because no Law can oblige a man to abandon his own preservation. And supposing such a Law were obligatory: yet a man would reason thus, if I doe it not, I die presently: if I doe it, I die afterwards; therefore by doing it, there is time of life gained; Nature therefore compells him to the fact.

—Thomas Hobbes

Ugochukwu Nwanebu (I’ll refer to him as "Ugo") was recently convicted of trying to enter Canada with someone else’s passport after being tortured and nearly killed by the Nigerian police.

He is appealing his case to the British Columbia Court of Appeal. Throughout June, Reasonable Doubt will cover his very interesting and unfortunate legal case. This is his story.

Ugo had his first run-in with the Nigerian police when he was a teenager.

Two police officers pulled into a local gas station and demanded a discount on gas. The attendant put the pump nozzle in the police car, told them that they would be charged full price, and walked away while the gas pumped. The police shot him several times in the back.

Ugo and several other boys carried the attendant to a car so that he could be rushed to the hospital. He died in their arms, leaving them covered in his blood.

This would not be Ugo’s last run-in with the police. His next would change his life forever.

Ugo is from a small, rural village in Nigeria. He is a member of the Igbo people, an oppressed group who are discriminated against by the state.

He is a member of MASSOB (Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra), a non-violent political group in a violent country who work to promote the interests of the Igbo people.

While on his way to a rally with a car full of MASSOB members in August 2008, Ugo was stopped by police. The police realized that he was a MASSOB member and arrested him and his car-mates.

The police in Nigeria are known to detain people without laying charges, commit extrajudicial killings, torture detainees, and respond to political protest with violence. It is a dangerous place to be involved in politics.

Police detained Ugo for 16 days in a group cell with other prisoners. The conditions in the cell were abysmal. He was kept in his underwear, with only periodic access to a toilet. He slept on plastic bags on the floor. Detainees slept on top of each other because the cell was so cramped. The police gave Ugo no food. Detainees only ate when someone brought food to the jail for them or another detainee shared, which was rare.

Ugo was repeatedly tortured. The police interrogated him, and beat him with batons and kobokos. They threatened to kill him.

He was luckily released when his sister discovered where he was and hired a lawyer. He says that he was half-dead by the time he was released.

Ugo continued working for MASSOB despite beginning to suffer PTSD symptoms, including anxiety, flashbacks, and trouble sleeping. He remained passionate about his peoples’ cause.

A few months later and at another rally, Ugo was acting as a driver for a high-ranking member of MASSOB. Police boxed in his car and arrested him and the MASSOB official and his three bodyguards.

Ugo was detained for four days in similar conditions as the first time. He was tortured. On more than one occasion, he was tied to the ceiling and beaten and interrogated.

On the second day, Ugo’s sister came to the jail and tried to have him released. The police told her that he had already been transferred to the country’s capital city, Abuja. That was a lie.

On the fourth day, the police told Ugo that he was being transferred to Abuja. Instead, they drove him and the three bodyguards deep into the bush. The police uncuffed them and told them to run.

Before he knew it, the police started shooting. Ugo ran for his life. He heard bullets hitting everything around him. Bullets crashed into trees and rocks around—he felt their debris hitting into his legs while he ran. 

Ugo does not know what happened to the three bodyguards who were taken to the bush with him. They may have escaped. They may have been wounded or killed.

Ugo escaped and was able to take a brief refuge in a church. The pastor offered him clothing and food and contacted Ugo’s sister.

Ugo’s sister fled with him on a night bus across the country in order to hide at their uncle’s house. When they arrived they learned that the police had put a bulletin out on the local radio station announcing that Ugo was wanted.

Ugo was frantic. He believed that the police would kill him if they caught him. His sister came up with the plan to use their uncle’s passport to get him out of the country and to safety. There was no time for Ugo to return home for his own passport as the police might capture him.

Ugo’s sister used her savings from working at a local brewery to buy a ticket to Vancouver. She had a friend from university who lived in Vancouver. He was a human-rights worker.

Ugo had never left Nigeria before. He had never even heard of Canada and knew little about the west.

When Ugo arrived at the Vancouver airport, he was fearful. He was days removed from being tortured and nearly escaping with his life. He spoke only pidgin English, and even that was his second language.

Ugo lied to the Canadian customs officials. He pretended to be his uncle and used his uncle's passport, which is a criminal offence that carries a maximum penalty of 14 years imprisonment.

Ugo had no idea what a refugee application was. He thought that his only way to get to safety was to lie. He did not know whether he could trust the immigration officials. They looked like police, and his only experiences with police were in Nigeria where they could not be trusted. He was also suffering from PTSD caused by the torture, which would have caused him a fear of authority figures.

The immigration officials denied Ugo entry. They could tell that he was using a false passport. He pled with the officials at the airport, explaining that if he was returned to Nigeria he would be killed. He was arrested and sent to jail.

Unfortunately, in Canada once immigration officials deem that someone should be removed (by issuing a “removal order”) they are not allowed to claim refugee protection.

Ugo has now been in Canada for four years because his criminal case has taken an unusually long time. The Nigerian police are still looking for him—they questioned his mother about his whereabouts as recently as February of this year.

Ugo now has a Canadian wife and two stepchildren who he loves very much. Approximately one year ago, Ugo’s wife severely injured her back. Since then, Ugo has been the primary breadwinner and caretaker for their children.

A typical day for Ugo starts early so that he can get his children ready for school. After they are dropped off at school, he returns home and makes supper for his wife and kids to eat while he is at work. He leaves for work at 2 p.m. and returns after midnight. Once home, he generally does not sleep more than one to three hours per night because his PTSD has caused him insomnia.

If his conviction is upheld on appeal, then he may be forever barred from returning to Canada after he is deported, despite the fact that he is married to a Canadian citizen. Immigration laws prevent people who are convicted of criminal offences with long maximum sentences from entering Canada.

One of the key issues on appeal is whether Ugo can claim the defence of necessity. The law recognizes that someone who commits a crime may be excused if they had few reasonable alternatives. The lost mountain climber should not be punished when they break into a cabin to keep warm. The Supreme Court of Canada explained the defence of necessity in Perka v. The Queen:

It rests on a realistic assessment of human weakness, recognizing that a liberal and humane criminal law cannot hold people to the strict obedience of laws in emergency situations where normal human instincts, whether of self-preservation or of altruism, overwhelmingly impel disobedience.

To my knowledge, this is the first time that a Canadian Court has considered whether the defence of necessity applies in a refugee-like situation. The appeal may impact how refugees are treated across Canada, and will have a significant impact on Ugo and his family.

Joseph Fearon is counsel for Ugo on his appeal to the BCCA. While Ugo's case came to our attention because of Fearon's work, as the lawyer acting for Ugo, it would not be appropriate for him to comment publicly about it at this time. He will refrain from making comment about this case and writing on this topic. The information in these articles comes from the trial record, the trial decision, and the Notice of Appeal.