Rosemary Okere, a political asylum seeker & a Nigerian journalist, refuses to give up her and her son's bid for asylum in the United States. She was unjustly deported to Nigeria several years back-she wishes to be here with her son. Her son is under threat of unjust, probably unlawful deportation by vindictive attorneys/powers that be. She faces death at the hands of her husband's killers in Nigeria. Her prolonged absence from her son increased his depression leading him to try to end his life. It began with her husband's death in Lagos May 15, 1991. He was writing columns on economics for The Daily Times and other papers. He was ambushed by uniformed police, shot in the chest while his arms were raised, and his body taken by the police. Okere was with him but managed escaped uninjured. She filed a lawsuit against the government after realizing no actions would be taken against the officers who killed her husband. She received death threats from men claiming to be her husband's killers, and went into hiding with her son for several years. She finally made it to the United States on a tourist visa in 1995 and applied for asylum. As happens to many in her situation she relied on an attorney who took her money but advised her she need not appear in person at a key hearing. Her asylum was denied in absentia. She filed a grievance against the attorney with the Washington State Bar Association which ruled in her favor. (He threatened to and eventually did have her deported.) Two weeks later, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement apprehended her for deportation and she was put in a women's prison/detention center without bail for four to five years although she committed no crime.

This story by: Julie Johnson. I edited it for this petition.

Links