The High Court had to apply the common law test for the
recognition of foreign adoption.
Background:
Mrs. O, a Nigerian-born born in 1972, moved to live in the UK
with her family circa. 1978. In later years, she spent time in
other countries for work, including the USA, but returned to settle
in Nigeria in 2013 when she married Mr. H.
A is Mrs. O's biological niece. She was born on 19 March 2015
and was raised by her biological parents but X (Mrs. O's
brother) suffers from severe health challenges and Y struggled with
substance misuse. A was never enrolled at nursery or pre-school and
was subject to emotional and physical harm. A came to live away
from her mother in February 2018 on a permanent basis. Following
the death of her father in 2019, A came to reside with Mr. H. Mrs.
O became A's legal guardian on 25 September 2019 and, in
2020, she formerly adopted A in Nigeria.
