FILED
NOT FOR PUBLICATION MAR 13 2012
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS U .S. C O U R T OF APPE ALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
OLUSOJI ODUMAKINDE, No. 09-70179
Petitioner, Agency No. A077-183-904
v.
MEMORANDUM *
ERIC H. HOLDER, Jr., Attorney General,
Respondent.
On Petition for Review of an Order of the
Board of Immigration Appeals
Submitted March 6, 2012 **
Before: B. FLETCHER, REINHARDT, and TASHIMA, Circuit Judges.
Olusoji Odumakinde, a native and citizen of Nigeria, petitions for review of
the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) order denying his motion to reopen
removal proceedings. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1252. We
review for an abuse of discretion the denial of a motion to reopen, Iturribarria v.
*
This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent
except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3.
**
The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision
without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2).
INS, 321 F.3d 889, 894 (9th Cir. 2003), and we grant the petition for review and
remand.
In his motion to reopen, Odumakinde provided evidence that there has been
an escalation of violence since the time of the merits hearing against his family
members and fellow churchgoers in Nigeria because of their Christian religion,
including that Muslim extremists doused Odumakinde’s brother with gasoline in
an attempt to light him on fire, and cut his head with a machete. We conclude the
BIA abused its discretion in denying Odumakinde’s motion to reopen where he
provided sufficient evidence of changed circumstances in Nigeria such that he now
has a “reasonable likelihood” of demonstrating a well-founded fear of persecution.
See Malty v. Ashcroft, 381 F.3d 942, 945-48 (9th Cir. 2004). Accordingly, we
grant the petition and remand to the BIA with instructions to reopen. See id. at
948.
PETITION FOR REVIEW GRANTED; REMANDED.
2 09-70179