The High Court has quashed a decision refusing refugee status to a gay Nigerian who claims he has been persecuted in his home country because of his sexual orientation.

Mr Justice Anthony Barr has found the Refugee Appeals Tribunal failed in its duty to give a reasoned and rational decision.

The man (37) claims he was beaten and left for dead after a security guard discovered him and another man having sex in a van in Nigeria in 2004.

He says he was attacked again in 2007, when his boyfriend's family found out about their relationship.

He spent 12 days in hospital and was subsequently given money by a gay friend to escape to Ireland.

Once here, his claim for refugee status was turned down. The Refugee Appeals Tribunal found that as a gay man he could have safely relocated within Nigeria.

But that ruling has now been quashed by the High Court, which has found the Tribunal failed to give a reasoned and rational decision - and ignored evidence in reports about how homosexuals are treated in Nigeria.

Mr Justice Anthony Barr has sent the case back to the Refugee Appeals Tribunal for further consideration.